"Selenium plays an important role in therapy and protection against leishmaniasis."
Researchers at high school Tropical Health publish book chapter on employment of selenium derivatives to combat tropical diseases
PHOTO: Manuel Castells
Researchers from the high school Tropical Health of the University of Navarraat partnership with the School of Pharmacy, have published a book chapter on the employment of selenium derivatives to combat tropical diseases. "Selenium plays an important role in the therapy of and protection against leishmaniasis"Carmen Sanmartín, Daniel Plano, María Font and Juan Antonio Palop explain in the book "Selenium: Sources, Functions and Health Effects".publishing house Nova Science Publishers (New York).
Scientists at laboratory de Farmacoterapia analyze the role of selenium in the metabolism of some parasites, as well as the importance of its plasma levels in the treatment and prognosis of these pathologies. "Scientific publications on the effect of selenium-containing compounds against tropical diseases are still scarce, but it is already emerging as a very promising field," explains Dr. Carmen Sanmartín.
On the other hand, programs of study clinical and epidemiological studies show the importance of selenium in the regulation of oxidative stress, which acts by modulating the activity of some selenoenzymes. "Trypanothione reductase is a sulfur enzyme present in parasites of the genus Leishmania and one of those responsible for the control of its oxidative level". Given the analogy Chemistry between sulfur and selenium, this group of researchers proposes the design, synthesis and biological assessment as leishmanicidal agents of new molecules containing selenium in their structure. According to the researcher at high school of Tropical Health, "some of the new compounds we have prepared are more effective, in terms of potency and university entrance exam, than the reference letter standards used in the clinic (miltefosine and edelfosine)".