Journal
TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
Volume 104, Issue 3, Pages 175-184Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2009.08.007
Keywords
Malaria; Anaemia; Macrophage; Iron; Ferroportin; Hepcidin
Funding
- UK Medical Research Council
Ask authors/readers for more resources
There is consensus that the pathophysiology of malaria-associated anaemia is multifactorial, but the precise mechanisms behind many of the haematological changes during malaria remain unclear. In this review, we attempt to build a composite picture of the pathophysiology of malarial anaemia using evidence from experimental, human and animal studies. We propose that cytokine- and hepcidin-mediated iron delocalisation, a principal mechanism in the anaemia of inflammation, plays an important role in the aetiology of malarial anaemia, and can explain some of the clinical and laboratory findings. These mechanisms interact with other aetiological determinants, such as dietary iron and micronutrient supply, helminth load, other infections and genetic variation, in determining the severity and associated features of anaemia. We suggest that iron delocalisation as a mechanism for malarial anaemia could be exploited for the development of alternative therapeutic strategies for post-malaria anaemia. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available