Study on Cerebral Malaria Could Lead to Diagnostic Test

The results of a study on children in Gabonese hospitals show that, in 90% of children suffering from cerebral malaria, antibodies specifically recognize a protein in the brain--cerebral alpha-spectrin.

The study provides a lead on how to perfect a diagnostic test, which should allow for better patient care. Scientists at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS; Paris France) and the Pasteur Institute (Paris, France) collaborating with physicians in Gabon, have just undertaken a study on cerebral malaria in children living in an endemic region. This study, which was published in the April 2007 issue of the journal PLoS ONE, should allow clinicians to better understand this severe form of malaria which affects 20-40% of people infected by the Plasmodium falciparum parasite, and is fatal in 30–50% of cases.

A particular immunologic phenomenon has been observed in people infected by P falciparum. The B-lymphocytes, the main antibody-producing cells, increase their secretion of a range of antibodies, notably those directed against various components of the organism (such as DNA and red blood cells). Today, it is still not known if these autoantibodies are the result of pathologic mechanisms associated with the infection or if they contribute to the events leading to severe forms of the illness.

The French and Gabonese teams sought to understand if some of these autoantibodies were directed against the molecules in the brain. They worked on the blood samples of some 350 children aged between 6 months and five years who had been treated in Gabonese hospitals. The cohort was divided into five groups: control patients (without parasites in the blood), asymptomatic patients, patients developing simple malaria, patients suffering from serious, non-cerebral malaria (notably severe anaemia), and finally patients suffering from neurologic infection. The results of the study showed that in 90% of children suffering from cerebral malaria, the antibodies specifically recognized a protein in the brain, cerebral alpha-spectrin.

This study also opened a new sector of malaria research; understanding the role of autoantibodies directed against cerebral antigens in the development of the illness.


Related Links:
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Pasteur Institute