Date of Award
2023
First Advisor
Sarah Snyder
Second Advisor
Jesse Robbins
Abstract
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by Shistosoma sp., a genus of flatworm. Currently ~250 million people are infected, with a disability adjusted life year loss of ~3.7 million. To treat schistosomiasis, chemotherapy in the form of the drug praziquantel (PZQ) is used. The issue with using PZQ is that juvenile worms are unaffected, thus PZQ cannot prevent reinfection. Investigation into alternative drugs is therefore necessary to achieve an end goal of schistosomiasis elimination. I synthesized a PZQ derivative (PZQ-2Cl), and examined its cercariae killing activity. I found that while it did have a high efficacy, it was lower than that of PZQ. Further studies should be done to test PZQ-2Cl on adult worms. Any data on PZQ or PZQ derivatives will help to inform future development of antischistosomal drugs.
Recommended Citation
Coote, Liam, "A Synthesis and Evaluation of a Novel Drug for the Treatment of Schistosomiasis" (2023). Senior Theses. 1635.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/sr-theses/1635
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