Simvastatin Reverses Parasitological Resistance in Malaria Patients Treated with Chloroquine
N. N. Nwobodo¹* and P. O. Okonkwo²¹Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu Nigeria.
²Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu Nigeria.
Corresponding Author E-Mail:nnwobodo@yahoo.com
Abstract: Malaria patients (n=60) confirmed by thick blood film and immunological tests were equally categorized into test and control groups in a double blind randomized controlled trial. The test group received chloroquine and simvastatin while the control received chloroquine alone. Patients were followed up on days 0, 3, 7, 14 and 28 post-treatment. Assessment of parasitological response was carried out in line with WHO criteria. Results revealed that low (RI), moderate (RII) and high (RIII) level parasitological resistance were significantly (P<0.05) reduced in the test group relative to control. Similarly, the late parasitological failure (LPF) was significantly (P<0.05) reduced in the test relative to the control group in the study.In conclusion, the significant decline in total parasitological resistance noted in the test group relative to control could be rightly attributed to the modulating influence of simvastatin.
Keywords: Chloroquine; parasitological resistance; simvastatin; uncomplicated malaria Back to TOC