Chemistry Lab
Chloroquine, produced in the U.S. by the pharmaceutical company Aralen, is a drug most often prescribed to treat and prevent malaria. Malaria, a protozoa parasitic infection spread by the Anopheles mosquito, lives in tropical regions. While the chance of catching malaria in the United States is nearly impossible, chloroquine can also treat severe autoimmune disease like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
History of Chloroquine
According to the CDC website, the first antimalarial medication was discovered during the 17th century. Spanish invaders learned of a medicinal bark used by Peru's indigenous people to treat malaria, called quinine. Another antimalarial medicine, artemisinin, produced by the plant sweet wormwood, was another. It wasn't until 1934, when a German scientist created the related chemical, chloroquine, in the lab.
During World War II, international trade became difficult, and the supply of quinine dwindled. As a result, chloroquine, proven effective against malaria, was widely distributed to allied soldiers. However, since chloroquine resistance has spread around the world, alternatives like old-fashioned artemisinin are now in use.
How Chloroquine Works
Chloroquine, like its natural cousins quinine and artemisinin, binds iron molecule in blood cells. Protozoa parasites, like malaria and intestinal worms, feed on human blood. When blood cells become damaged by these tiny invaders, chloroquine binds to the iron in blood cells of host and parasite. As these chloroquine bonded cells travel through the blood stream, they destroy the parasite. Because of this action, chloroquine and similar medications have shown promise in the battle against blood hogging tumors.
Chloroquine as Autoimmune Treatment
Chloroquine treats severe autoimmune diseases because it prevents the action of the immune system's T cells. Autoimmune diseases result when the body's immune system attacks its own organs or a systems. For example, rheumatoid arthritis results when the body's T cells attack the connective tissue between joints, causing pain, deterioration and swelling. According to the Blood Journal, chloroquine inactivates the cell's alarm signals that seem to trigger T cell responses.
Chloroquine, while enjoying long time use, is not without side effects. Blurred vision, ringing in the ears, chronic nausea, vivid dreams, head aches, dizziness, and muscle weakness can result from long term use.
Tags: blood cells, binds iron, immune system, rheumatoid arthritis, severe autoimmune, when body