ABSTRACT
In recent years, few ideas have captured the imagination of health-care practitioners as much as the advent of "big data" and the advanced analytical methods and technologies used to interpret it-it is a trend seen as having the potential to revolutionize biology, medicine, and health care.(1,2,3) As new types of data and tools become available, a unique opportunity is emerging for smarter and more effective discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative biopharmaceutical drugs.
Subject(s)
Delivery of Health Care/organization & administration , Drug Design , Drug Discovery/methods , Medical Informatics , Data Interpretation, Statistical , Health Information Management , HumansABSTRACT
Recently, artemisinin derivatives have been shown to be efficacious in chemoprophylaxis of and chemotherapy for Schistosoma japonicum and S. mansoni infections. Therefore, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was carried out to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of artesunate plus placebo and the combination of artesunate and praziquantel in the treatment of S. haematobium infections in Gabon. The 300 infected schoolchildren included in the study were randomized to receive artesunate plus placebo (n=90), praziquantel plus placebo (n=90), artesunate and praziquantel (n=90), or only placebo (n=30). End points were efficacy, assessed as cure on day 56, and tolerability. All treatment regimens were well tolerated. The praziquantel plus placebo-treated group attained a cure rate of 73%, artesunate plus placebo a rate of 27%, the combination of artesunate and praziquantel a rate of 81%, and placebo alone a rate of 20%. In summary, earlier findings of efficacy of artemisinin derivitives against S. mansoni and S. japonicum could not be confirmed in S. haematobium infections.
