LAUSR

Infections provoked by parasites are among the most prevalent diseases worldwide and generate important health and socioeconomic problems. Despite the enormous amount of work done, the chemotherapy for most of them remains unsolved. Usually, treatments are based on not specific drugs associated, in several cases, with long-term treatments and severe side effects. In addition, drug resistance and different strains susceptibility are further drawbacks of the existing chemotherapy. Considering that 1,4-DHP derivatives constitute an important class of compounds for new drug development, we present in this review an in-depth overview of the work done so far on 1,4-DHPs and their antiparasitic activities. The development of new derivatives or the application of known drugs used for other diseases is described in terms of their potential usefulness for drug design.