Artemisinin Resistance Marker (ARM) Platform - call for participants
Parasites with decreased sensitivity to artemisinins have been identified in Western Cambodia (see references below). The WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN) is calling for investigators to join a new initiative, the WWARN Artemisinin Resistance Marker (ARM) Platform, focused on identifying other foci of potential resistance and accelerating the identification and validation of molecular markers of parasite resistance to artemisinin derivatives.
WWARN plans to bring together clinical investigators from all endemic areas, who are engaged in or are planning trials of ACTs (artemisinin-based combination therapies) or 7-day artesunate curative therapy. Participants will share information in a closed forum with a particular focus on parasite clearance times from the blood of patients treated with either ACTs or artesunate curative therapy. If patients exhibiting signs of drug tolerance or resistance are identified, collaborating participants will be asked to prepare and submit samples for advanced genetic analyses. Policies on data and sample sharing will be agreed by the group, once it is formed. The WWARN-ARM Collaboration will accelerate the identification of candidate resistance markers and their translation into robust surveillance tools that will measure the extent of artemisinin resistance, track its spread and inform containment efforts.
To participate, investigators should be conducting or planning to conduct ACT trials or artesunate curative therapy trials in which they will:
- Measure parasite clearance time by determining parasite counts by quality-assured microscopy at specified intervals; and
- Have the capacity and ethical clearance to collect, process for removal of human DNA, and store venous blood samples for extraction of parasite DNA and RNA.
- Ideally, groups would have the capacity to cryopreserve samples for potential adaptation to culture and further analysis.
Investigators must be willing to use common methods. Participants will be offered training in the required standard protocols for blood collection and DNA extraction needed for the advanced genomic analysis, and will receive specialized sample collection supplies, if needed.
Participating investigators will not be constrained from performing studies or publishing results and will have the additional opportunity to contribute to a global effort that will greatly increase the chances of finding markers relevant across a variety of geographical regions.
Investigators interested in supporting this initiative are asked to contact WWARN by sending an email to arm@wwarn.org. Further details will appear on the WWARN website shortly.
Posted: 2 March 2010
1. Noedl, H., et al. (2008) Evidence of Artemisinin-Resistant Malaria in Western Cambodia. N Engl J Med 359, 2619-2620
2. Dondorp, A.M., et al. (2009) Artemisinin Resistance in Plasmodium falciparum Malaria. N Engl J Med 361, 455-467
