AUTHOR=Storm Janet , Craig Alister G. 

TITLE=Pathogenesis of cerebral malaria—inflammation and cytoadherence

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=4

YEAR=2014

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2014.00100

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2014.00100

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>Despite decades of research on cerebral malaria (CM) there is still a paucity of knowledge about what actual causes CM and why certain people develop it. Although sequestration of <italic>P. falciparum</italic> infected red blood cells has been linked to pathology, it is still not clear if this is directly or solely responsible for this clinical syndrome. Recent data have suggested that a combination of parasite variant types, mainly defined by the variant surface antigen, <italic>P. falciparum</italic> erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), its receptors, coagulation and host endothelial cell activation (or inflammation) are equally important. This makes CM a multi-factorial disease and a challenge to unravel its causes to decrease its detrimental impact.</p>