Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a parasitic disease that causes the rapid deterioration of brain tissue, is one of the most lethal infections known, with a fatality rate exceeding 97%. Caused by the free-living amoeba Naegleria fowleri (N. fowleri), the disease progresses with devastating speed, often leaving patients with only a few days to respond to treatment.

Now, researchers at the University of California San Diego have isolated a marine-derived compound that may provide a faster, more effective way to stop the parasite.

The study, published in Marine Drugs, was led by Debnath, Fenical and Hayley Fong, who completed this project as part of her doctoral research at UC San Diego.