HIGH PLASMA-LEVELS OF NITROGEN-OXIDES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE DISEASE AND CORRELATE WITH RAPID PARASITOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL CURE IN PLASMODIUM-FALCIPARUM MALARIA

Plasma levels of nitrogen oxide (NO), neopterin and C-reactive protein (CRP) were compared in 3 groups of Gabonese patients with Plasmodium falciparum malaria before and after therapy: adults with uncomplicated malaria, children with uncomplicated malaria, and children with sever e malaria. Plasma levels of all 3 molecules were significantly higher in severe malaria than in uncomplicated malaria. High levels of neopte rin and CRP during the acute phase of malaria significantly correlated with slow parasitological and clinical cure after therapy. In contras t, high NO plasma levels during the acute phase of malaria predicted a ccelerated cure. These findings provide further evidence for the prote ctive role of NO in malaria. However, as NO levels were highest in sev ere disease, overproduction may be harmful for the patients.