Anti-malaria drug chloroquine may provide a blueprint with new treatment strategies for inflammation and a multitude of autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and certain cancers, according to a new research. For decades, chloroquine and its derivative amodiaquine have also been used as anti-inflammation drugs to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, though the exact mechanism of how chloroquine affects the immune system has remained unclear.
By providing an understanding of these basic functions, researchers may now have the necessary tools to develop improved treatments for a myriad of common autoimmune disorders.
"The implications of this study are significant," said Henry F. McFarland, Ph.D., former Chief of the Neuroimmunology Branch of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
"These results provide a mechanistic basis for therapeutic strategies for treating inflammation and autoimmune diseases and should provide exciting new approaches which can be tested in clinical trials."
The study was recently published in the journal Science Signaling Van Andel Research Institute.
Source-ANI