Malaria is a deadly infectious disease caused by parasites of the Plasmodium spp. that takes an estimated 435,000 lives each year, primarily among young African children. For most children, malaria is a febrile illness that resolves with time, but in ∼1% of cases, for reasons we do not understand, malaria becomes severe and life threatening. Cerebral malaria (CM) is the most common form of severe malaria, accounting for the vast majority of childhood deaths from malaria despite highly effective antiparasite chemotherapy. Thus, CM is one of the most prevalent lethal brain diseases, and one for which we have no effective therapy. CM is, in part, an immune-mediated disease, and to fully understand CM, it is essential to appreciate the complex relationship between the malarial parasite and the human immune system. In this study, we provide a primer on malaria for immunologists and, in this context, review progress identifying targets for therapeutic intervention.

中文翻译：

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迫切寻求脑型疟疾的治疗方法


疟疾是一种由疟原虫属寄生虫引起的致命传染病。据估计，每年有 435,000 人因此丧生，其中主要是非洲儿童。对于大多数儿童来说，疟疾是一种发热性疾病，会随着时间的推移而消退，但在大约 1% 的病例中，由于我们不明白的原因，疟疾会变得严重并危及生命。脑型疟疾（CM）是最常见的严重疟疾，尽管抗寄生虫化疗非常有效，但仍占儿童死于疟疾的绝大多数。因此，CM 是最常见的致命性脑部疾病之一，并且我们没有有效的治疗方法。 CM 在某种程度上是一种免疫介导的疾病，要充分了解 CM，必须了解疟疾寄生虫与人体免疫系统之间的复杂关系。在这项研究中，我们为免疫学家提供了关于疟疾的入门知识，并在此背景下回顾了确定治疗干预目标的进展。