Targeted nanoparticles can overcome drug resistance in trypanosomes

Sleeping sickness threatens millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is considered fatal if untreated, but treatment options are limited. Existing drugs have serious side effects, and the parasites are developing resistance. A study now reports a new way to circumvent drug resistance and lower the curative dose by delivering existing drugs directly into the parasite, a high-tech approach with potential applications to other infectious diseases.