ABSTRACT
Malaria remains one of the most important infectious diseases in the world. A resurgence of malaria has been accompanied by a disturbing spread of chloroquine resistance to almost all geographic areas where malaria is found (WHO, 1987). Radical departure from the chemical entities of the past is necessary for the development of new chemotherapies to avoid the common problem of crossresistance amongst various agents. New drugs such as mefloquine and halofantrine, which are effective against chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum, have been introduced and will certainly help this situation for the near future. Unfortunately, malaria parasites resistant to both drugs are already known (Boudreau et al., 1982; Bygbjerg et al., 1983; Robinson et al., 1986). Therefore, it is evident that the research for novel chemotherapeutic agents remains an important endeavour. Over the past 5 years we have tried to apply some new tactics towards obtaining new antimalarials. This chapter is a discussion of work on inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis/function with eflornithine alone and in combination with polyamine analogues and also of the potential use of desipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant, for the reversal of chloroquine resistance in P. falciparum.
