Premium
Markers of inflammation in children with severe malarial anaemia
Author(s) -
Biemba Godfrey,
Gordeuk Victor R.,
Thuma Philip,
Weiss Günter
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3156.2000.00545.x
Subject(s) - neopterin , medicine , odds ratio , malaria , immunology , logistic regression , cerebral malaria , gastroenterology , plasmodium falciparum
Summary OBJECTIVE To investigate if severe malarial anaemia is associated with a specific immune response pattern, we determined serum levels of neopterin (a marker of activation of macrophages by interferon‐γ) and of the anti‐inflammatory cytokines, interleukins 4 and 10. METHODS Zambian children < 6 years of age presenting to a rural hospital with cerebral malaria were studied. Twenty‐one children with admission haemoglobin concentrations ≤ 5 g/dl were classified as having severe anaemia and 40 with haemoglobin concentrations ≥ 7 g/dl served as a control group. RESULTS Logistic regression modelling indicated that a 10‐fold rise in serum neopterin concentrations was associated with a 50‐fold increase in the estimated odds of having severe anaemia ( P = 0.015), while a 10‐fold rise in serum interleukin 4 concentrations was associated with a 10‐fold decrease in the estimated odds of having severe anaemia ( P = 0.023). Increasing serum interleukin 10 concentrations, measured in less than half of the subjects, were associated with a nonsignificant reduction in the odds of having severe anaemia ( P = 0.095). CONCLUSION Development of severe malarial anaemia may be directly associated with serum neopterin concentrations and inversely correlated with serum interleukin 4 levels.