Editorial [ Trypanosomiais and Leishmaniasis “Recent Development in the Chemotherapy of Infectious Diseases caused by Parasitic Protozoa” Executive Editor: Wanderley de Souza ]

The high impact of diseases caused by parasitic protozoa shortens working capacity, causing premature disability, shortening of life quality and expectancy of individuals, leading to economical and social losses. In this issue of Current Pharmaceutical Design several articles, written by colleagues with a major contribution on the area, deal with drugs that interfere with specific structures/organelles of the most important protozoa. In the first article, W. de Souza [1] makes a brief review on the structural organization of parasitic protozoa, pointing out the main structures and organelles that make them very special as eukaryotic cells. In the second article, N. Sen and H.M. Majumder [2] review the available information on the mitochondrion of protozoa and its potentiality as drug target. The third article, by M.C.M. Motta [3] analyses the kinetoplast, a defining characteristic of the order Kinetoplastida, in which the Trypanosomatidae family is included, and its potentiality as drug target. In the fourth article J. Wiesner, A. Reichenberg, S. Heinrich, M. Schlitzer and H. Jomma [4] review the new information available on the plastid-like organelle found in apicomplexan parasites. The fifth article by M. Benchimol [5] deals with the hydrogenosome, an organelle characteristic of trichomonads and validated as drug target in view of peculiarities of its metabolic role. The sixth article by R.Docampo and S.N.J. Moreno [6] brings an up to date view of the acidocalcisome, an organelle described and characterized in recent years in a large number of pathogenic protozoa. In the seventh article P.S. Doyle, M. Sajid, T. O'Brien, K. DuBois, J.C. Engel, Z.B. Mackey and S. Reed [7] review information on the lysosome. Fifty years after its first description, this organelle, has pivotal role in several biological functions. The eight article by C.D. Goodeman and G.I. McFadden [8] review the available information on a new and interesting drug target, the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway. In the ninth article, K.M. Grant [9] covers the present day information on the cell cycle of pathogenic protozoa and the potential of its steps as drug targets. Finally, J.C.F.Rodrigues and W. de Souza [10] make a review on the potentiality of electron microscopy for the analysis of the effect of drugs on the structural organization of pathogenic protozoa. References [1] de Souza W. An Introduction to the Structural Organization of Parasitic Protozoa. Curr Pharm Des 2008; 14(9): 822-838. [2] Sen N, Majumder HK. Mitochondrion of Protozoan Parasite Emerges as Potent Therapeutic Target: Exciting Drugs are on the Horizon. Curr Pharm Des 2008; 14(9): 839-846. [3] Motta MCM. Kinetoplast as a Potential Chemotherapeutic Target of Trypanosomatids. Curr Pharm Des 2008; 14(9): 847-854. [4] Wiesner J, Reichenberg A, Heinrich S, Schlitzer M, Jomaa H. The Plastid-Like Organelle of Apicomplexan Parasites as Drug Target. Curr Pharm Des 2008; 14(9): 855-871. [5] Benchimol M. The Hydrogenosome as a Drug Target. Curr Pharm Des 2008; 14(9): 872-881. [6] Docampo R, Moreno SNJ. The Acidocalcisome as a Target for Chemotherapeutic Agents in Protozoan Parasites. Curr Pharm Des 2008; 14(9): 882-888. [7] Doyle PS, Sajid M, O'Brien T, DuBois K, Engel JC, Mackey ZB, Reed S. Drugs Targeting Parasite Lysosomes. Curr Pharm Des 2008; 14(9): 889-900. [8] Goodman CD, McFadden GI. Fatty Acid Synthesis in Protozoan Parasites: Unusual Pathways and Novel Drug Targets. Curr Pharm Des 2008; 14(9): 901-916. [9] Grant KM. Targeting the Cell Cycle in the Pursuit of Novel Chemotherapies Against Parasitic Protozoa. Curr Pharm Des 2008; 14(9): 917-924. [10] Rodrigues JCF, de Souza W. Ultrastructural Alterations in Organelles of Parasitic Protozoa Induced by Different Classes of Metabolic Inhibitors. Curr Pharm Des 2008; 14(9): 925-938.