[Malaria prophylaxis and treatment: problems, recent developments and perspectives].

Rapid development of significant resistance to antimalarials has been a major force driving research to identify and develop new drugs. Recent progress in this field promises to lead to a much greater range of antimalarial agents. The availability of a broader battery of drugs should provide a partial solution to the dilemma faced by malarial control agencies, i.e., distributing antimalarial drugs as widely as possible without enhancing resistance. Avenues of research for development of new antimalarials include lipid metabolism, degradation of hemoglobin and proteins, interaction with molecule transport, iron metabolism, apicoplasty and signal transduction. Throughout the course of evolution, micro-organisms have thwarted traps set by the environment including those designed by man. One can but hope that the different approaches now being implemented on a worldwide bases will overcome the defense mechanisms that Plasmodium have deployed in their long co-evolution with humans and anopheles.