Insights into Pediatric Cerebral Malaria—Some 450,000 children die of malaria each year, with half those deaths from cerebral malaria (CM), a condition in which parasite-filled red blood cells clog the brain¹s blood vessels, causing brain swelling and coma. A research team led by Dr. Kami Kim worked with investigators at the Blantyre Malaria Project to examine brain tissue from autopsies on 103 children in Malawi, Africa. The children had died from CM or other causes of coma. The study, published online September 22 in mBio, found that fatal pediatric CM is associated with elevated numbers of monocytes in brain blood vessels (indicating inflammation) and elevated platelet levels (indicating blood coagulation). HIV infection was more common than expected in children with CM, and brain pathology was more severe in CM children who were HIV+. Results suggest that children who are HIV+ and at risk for malaria may benefit from targeted malaria prevention efforts and that treatments targeting inflammation and/or coagulation may improve outcomes. Dr. Kim is professor of medicine, of microbiology & immunology, and of pathology. Dr. Sarah Hochman, a former instructor and infectious disease fellow, and current adjunct clinical assistant professor of medicine, was first author on the paper. She is now on the faculty at New York University Medical Center.
Posted on: Tuesday, September 22, 2015