M. Nacher et al., Association of splenomegaly with cerebral malaria and decreased concentrations of reactive nitrogen intermediates in Thailand, AM J TROP M, 65(5), 2001, pp. 639-643
Citations number
21
Categorie Soggetti
Envirnomentale Medicine & Public Health","Medical Research General Topics
The role of the spleen during Plasmodium falciparum malaria in humans is un
clear. In Thailand, malaria transmission is low and splenomegaly is rarer t
han in high transmission areas. We compared the prevalence of splenomegaly
between 52 cerebral malaria patients and 191 patients without complications
despite a high parasite biomass. We also measured concentrations of reacti
ve nitrogen intermediates (RNIs) in a fraction of these cases recruited in
1998 (24 cerebral malaria and 56 controls). Splenomegaly was significantly
associated with cerebral malaria (adjusted odds ratio = 2.07 [95% confidenc
e interval = 1-4.2]; P = 0.048). There was a linear trend for this associat
ion (P = 0.0003). After adjusting for potential confounders, concentrations
of RNIs were significantly lower in the presence of splenomegaly (P = 0.01
). These results suggest that in humans, as in animal models, the spleen ma
y be involved in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria. The relationship bet
ween RNI concentrations and the spleen suggest that nitric oxide may have a
regulating role in the complex physiology of the spleen during malaria.