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Antiprotozoal agents (ATC code: ATC P01) is a class ofpharmaceuticals used in treatment ofprotozoan infection.
Aparaphyletic group,protozoans have little in common with each other. For example,Entamoeba histolytica, aunikonteukaryotic organism, is more closely related toHomo sapiens (humans), which also belongs to the unikont phylogenetic group, than it is toNaegleria fowleri, a "protozoan"bikont. As a result, agents effective against onepathogen may not be effective against another.[citation needed]
Antiprotozoal agents can be grouped by mechanism[1] or by organism.[2] Recent papers have also proposed the use ofviruses to treatinfections caused byprotozoa.[3][4]
Overuse or misuse of antiprotozoals can lead to the development ofantiprotozoal resistance.[5]
Antiprotozoals are used to treat protozoal infections, which includeamebiasis,giardiasis,cryptosporidiosis,microsporidiosis,malaria,babesiosis,trypanosomiasis,Chagas disease,leishmaniasis, andtoxoplasmosis.[6] Currently, many of the treatments for these infections are limited by their toxicity.[7]
Protists were once considered protozoans, but of late the categorization of unicellar organisms has undergone rapid development, however in literature, including scientific, there tends to persist the usage of the term antiprotozoal when they really meananti-protist. Protists are a supercategory ofeukaryota which includesprotozoa.
The mechanisms of antiprotozoal drugs differ significantly drug to drug. For example, it appears thateflornithine, a drug used to treattrypanosomiasis, inhibitsornithine decarboxylase, while theaminoglycoside antibiotic/antiprotozoals used to treatleishmaniasis are thought to inhibit protein synthesis.[8]
