Children at Risk Despite Malaria Treatment
September 24, 2013
Hassana Ousmane rests her head against the bed where her 21-month-old daughter, Zeinab, suffering from malaria, rests at the Princess Marie Louise Children's Hospital in Accra, Ghana, April 25, 2012.
Repeated bouts of malaria may leave children vulnerable to other deadly infections and even cardiovascular disease later in life. Now, a new study may explain why.
About 200 children in Blantyre, Malawi, took part in the study. It compares kids in one group, who have mild or the more serious cerebral malaria, to those in another group, who are healthy. Malaria is caused by the bite of an infected mosquito that transmits parasites first to the liver and then to red blood cells. Tests showed the blood vessels of the two groups of children were different – especially those with cerebral malaria.
It has to do with inflammation. It’s long been known that diseases that cause acute fevers – febrile diseases – trigger inflammation in the endothelium. That’s the smooth, thin layer of cells lining blood vessels throughout the body.
“What people hadn’t looked at was whether that resolves after you give treatment and after the fact that the febrile illness goes away,” said Dr. Chris Moxon.
Moxon is the lead author of the study and a clinical lecturer at Liverpool University. At the time of the study he was a PhD Fellow at Wellcome Trust. He says when healthy, the endothelium allows the blood to flow unrestricted, similar to Teflon coating on a non-stick cooking pan.
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