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Query: UMLS:C0024530 (malaria)
 44,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The nature of the suppression of the pituitary-thyroid axis during infection was studied by testing the integrity of thyrotropin (TSH) and prolactin (PRL) responses to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) during acute falciparum malaria in human volunteers. During infection, TSH responses to TRH were found to be intact while PRL secretion was slightly increased. That serum T3 levels abruptly declined during infection while serum T4 was stable or increasing suggested an alteration in peripheral degradative pathways and prompted the measuremnt of reverse T3. Changes in serum T3 concentration were found to be accompanied by reciprocal changes in reverse T3. These observations allow some clarification of previously unknown aspects of thyroidal economy during infection.
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PMID:Studies on the nature of thyroidal suppression during acute falciparum malaria: integrity of pituitary response to TRH and alterations in serum T3 and reverse T3. 40 26

Different proposals have been offered to explain the polymorphism of the sickle cell hemoglobin gene. One of these proposals (Eaton and Mucha 1971) suggested that differential fertility of male subjects with the sickle cell trait contributes to the persistence and stability of the sickle cell gene frequency. Eaton and Mucha claimed that oligospermia, induced by hyperpyrexia, is a less common problem in these subjects because they probably have milder and shorter episodes of fever from malaria infection than subjects with a normal genotype. We have looked for evidence to support this hypothesis by comparing the testicular function, testicular size, and serum concentrations of the reproductive hormones in adult male subjects with the sickle cell trait and in an age-matched group of subjects with normal hemoglobin genotype. The mean serum concentration of testosterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and prolactin of both groups, measured by radio-immunoassay, were not statistically different from each other. Also, there was no detectable difference in any of the common indexes of semen quality between the two groups. The testicular volume index and several anthropometric indexes of subjects with the sickle cell trait and subjects with the normal hemoglobin genotype were also statistically similar. The results suggest that gonadal function is similar in adult males with the normal genotype and those with the sickle cell trait. Any increase in fertility observed in the latter group is probably due to extragonadal factors.
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PMID:Is there increased fertility in adult males with the sickle cell trait? 875 61

The majority of deaths associated with complex emergencies are attributed to infants and children under the age of five years. Most of these deaths are related to preventable diseases such as malnutrition, diarrhea, and malaria. Infant feeding emergencies have emerged as a major factor in complex emergencies. This paper reviews the current information relative to infant feeding, and uses four case studies as educational tools for the management of infant feeding emergencies. Child mortality rates in refugee population have been linked directly to protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). Breast feeding has many advantages over all other forms of feeding for children up to the age of two years of age. These advantages are discussed in detail in this paper. In addition, the appropriate and inappropriate uses of breast-milk substitutes (BMS) are discussed. Breast feeding also may play a role in the spread of HIV infections from the mother to the infant. However, in the setting of complex emergencies in the developing world, the risk of an infant dying of malnutrition and infection when not breastfed is likely to be greater than is the risk of death due to HIV acquisition through breastfeeding. The physiology of lactation is reviewed with particular reference to the roles of prolactin, oxytocin, and the feedback inhibitor of lactation (FIL) hormone. No medications have been demonstrated to augment milk production that can be used in a practical sense in complex emergencies. Lastly, the principles promulgated by the WHO and UNHCR for the feeding of infants and children in emergencies and for milk powder distribution are summarized.
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PMID:Infant feeding practices in complex emergencies: a case study approach. 1209 Feb 3

We measured natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity and cortisol and prolactin concentrations in peripheral venous blood samples obtained from pregnant Gabonese women at the time of delivery. The NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity against Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes in vitro was lower in samples obtained from primiparous women than in samples obtained from multiparous women; cortisol concentrations were significantly higher in primiparous women than in multiparous women, and prolactin concentrations were significantly lower. The highest cortisol concentrations were found in the plasma of P. falciparum-infected primiparous women. A positive correlation was found between cortisol concentration and parasite load; an inverse correlation was found between the magnitude of the NK cell cytolytic effect and cortisol production. A positive correlation was found between this effect and prolactin production. Thus, depressed NK cell cytotoxicity against P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes is correlated with high cortisol concentrations and may contribute to increased susceptibility to malaria during pregnancy.
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PMID:Depressed natural killer cell cytotoxicity against Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes during first pregnancies. 1520 70

We measured cortisol and prolactin concentrations in the peripheral venous blood of 23 non-pregnant and 59 pregnant Gabonese women from the second trimester of pregnancy until delivery. Cortisol concentrations were significantly higher in primigravidae women than in multigravidae women between 20 and 25 weeks' gestational age (166 vs. 132 ng/ml, respectively), between 28 and 37 weeks (226 vs. 161 ng/ml) and at delivery (287 vs. 188 ng/ml). Conversely, plasma prolactin levels were highest in multigravidae women. Cortisol and prolactin concentrations both increased with the period of pregnancy (P = 0.01 and P < 0.01, respectively), suggesting that a sustained increase in cortisol level underlies the increased susceptibility of pregnant women, particularly primigravidae women, to malaria. In support of this hypothesis, we found a significant association between cortisol concentration and Plasmodium falciparum infection, on the one hand, and strong correlations with parasite load in P. falciparum-infected primigravidae women, on the other hand (rho between 0.35 and 0.45 with P < 0.01).
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PMID:Cortisol and susceptibility to malaria during pregnancy. 1600 11

Understanding the hormonal and cytokine interactions that underlie susceptibility to the disease should be helpful in elucidating the pathogenesis of malaria during pregnancy. The current study was conducted in the Wad Medani hospital, in an area of central Sudan that is characterised by unstable malarial transmission. Its aims were to investigate the roles and interactions of cortisol, prolactin, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in pregnant women with Plasmodium falciparum malaria. The 82 pregnant subjects who were enrolled either had uncomplicated, P. falciparum malaria (the 47 cases) or were apparently uninfected and healthy women (the 37 controls) who were similar to the cases in terms of their mean age, weight, gravidity, gestational age and haemoglobin concentration. Compared with the controls, the cases were found to have significantly higher serum concentrations of total cortisol and IL-10 and significantly lower levels of prolactin and IFN-gamma (but similar concentrations of IL-4). The hormone and cytokine concentrations measured in the infected primigravidae were similar to those recorded in the infected multigravidae. Among the cases, there was a significant positive correlation between serum cortisol and IL-10 (r=0.188; P=0.025) and significant negative correlations between prolactin and both IL-4 (r=-0.175; P=0.038) and IL-10 (r=-0.186; P=0.027) but no significant correlation between prolactin and cortisol. During pregnancy, immune responses appear to be influenced by P. falciparum infections, irrespective of parity. Cortisol, prolactin and some cytokines appear to be key mediators in the host response to P. ?falciparum infection, although further research on this subject is clearly needed.
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PMID:Cortisol, prolactin, cytokines and the susceptibility of pregnant Sudanese women to Plasmodium falciparum malaria. 1920 95

There is a growing concern about the endocrine effects of long-term, low-level exposure to organophosphate (OP) compounds. Studies on experimental animals have found that OP pesticides have an impact on the endocrine system and a few clinical and epidemiological studies have also shown that OPs may affect the male hormone profile, although results are inconsistent. We have evaluated the effect of exposure to OP pesticides, measured through urinary levels of six dialkylphosphate (DAP) metabolites, on male hormone profile in 136 floriculture workers from the State of Mexico and Morelos during two agricultural periods with different degree of pesticide exposure. Generalized estimated equations (GEE) models were developed and adjusted for several potential confounders, including PON1 enzyme activity, as a biomarker of susceptibility, and serum levels of p,p'-DDE, a metabolite of the pesticide DDT widely used in Mexico until 1999 for control of agricultural pests and malaria. Exposure of male floriculture workers to OP pesticides was associated with increased serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and prolactin and with decreased serum testosterone and inhibin B levels. Among all DAPs tested, only DETP was inversely associated with luteinizing hormone (LH). Estradiol showed a marginally significant positive trend with DEP and DETP derivatives. In conclusion, OP pesticides may have an impact on the endocrine function because of their potential to modify the male hormone profile as a function of the type of pesticide used as well as the magnitude of exposure.
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PMID:Changes in male hormone profile after occupational organophosphate exposure. A longitudinal study. 2315 46