Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024530 (malaria)
 44,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In this study, the nucleotide sequence of the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase from Plasmodium vivax has been compared to the same enzyme from another malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. It was found that the identity between two sequences was 74.8%. The percentage of the GC value was found to be higher in the Plasmodium vivax lactate dehydrogenase (46.6%) than in that of Plasmodium falciparum (33%). The nucleotide sequence that corresponds to the 5 amino acid insertion in Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase is also present in Plasmodium vivax. This site will be targeted in the design of novel antimalarials for Plasmodium vivax as has been for Plasmodium falciparum.
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PMID:[Comparative analysis at the nucleotide level of the genes encoding the lactate dehydrogenase enzyme of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum.]. 1716 Aug 10

Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have performed well in a variety of studies, but recent reports have described sensitivity for Plasmodium falciparum as significantly lower than that required for operational deployment. Exposure to high temperature has been suggested as an explanation. This study assessed the temperature stability of two different Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH)- and three histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2)-detecting RDTs. One HRP2 test proved insufficiently sensitive for assessment. After incubation at 35, 45 and 60 degrees C, two RDTs detecting pLDH showed a substantial fall in percentage test line positivity over time, which was not seen with the remaining two HRP-2-based RDTs. For the particular products studied, variability was high, with the pLDH-based RDTs being less sensitive than HRP2-based RDTs against the sample of P. falciparum used and more susceptible to heat-induced damage, but the reasons for this are unclear. The performance of malaria RDTs can be adversely affected at the temperatures to which they will be exposed when transported to, and used in, the rural tropics.
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PMID:The heat stability of Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase-based and histidine-rich protein 2-based malaria rapid diagnostic tests. 1721 67

Plasmodium falciparum is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in travelers to areas where the parasite is endemic. Non-specific clinical manifestations may result in failure to recognize malaria until autopsy, when it is often too late to obtain whole blood for microscopic evaluation. The use of immunohistochemical (IHC) assays in the detection of three P. falciparum antigens, histidine rich protein-2 (HRP-2), aldolase, and Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH), was evaluated in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded autopsy tissues from five travelers to malaria-endemic areas, whose deaths were initially suspected to have been caused by other bacterial or viral hemorrhagic fevers. The HRP-2 assay was specific for P. falciparum, whereas the aldolase and pLDH assays also reacted with P. vivax. Immunostaining patterns were predominately cytoplasmic and membranous. P. falciparum antigens were detected in a variety of organs but were most abundant in the blood vessels of brain, heart, and lung tissues.
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PMID:Fatal malaria infection in travelers: novel immunohistochemical assays for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum in tissues and implications for pathogenesis. 1729 32

Presumptive treatment of malaria results in significant overuse of antimalarials. Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) may offer a reliable alternative for case management, but the optimal RDT strategy is uncertain. We compared the diagnostic accuracy of histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2)- and plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH)-based RDTs, using expert microscopy as the gold standard, in a longitudinal study of 918 fever episodes over an 8-month period in a cohort of children in Kampala, Uganda. Sensitivity was 92% for HRP2 and 85% for pLDH, with differences primarily due to better detection with HRP2 at low parasite densities. Specificity was 93% for HRP2 and 100% for pLDH, with differences primarily due to rapid clearance of pLDH antigenemia after treatment of a previous malaria episode. RDTs may provide an effective strategy for improving rational delivery of antimalarial therapy; in Kampala, either test could dramatically decrease inappropriate presumptive treatments.
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PMID:Comparison of HRP2- and pLDH-based rapid diagnostic tests for malaria with longitudinal follow-up in Kampala, Uganda. 1755 16

Reported here is a rare case of babesiosis with pulmonary complications followed by a review of the literature. Babesiosis presents clinically as a malaria-like illness with fever, chills, headache, fatigue with lymphopenia, atypical lymphocytes, mildly or transiently elevated serum transaminases, thrombocytopenia, and increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. The diagnosis of babesiosis is based on identification of Babesia spp. on a peripheral blood smear. Babesiosis is usually mild in normal hosts, but it may be severe or even fatal in asplenic patients. Pulmonary manifestations are rare in babesiosis, but non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema (NCPE) is the most frequent manifestation. NCPE in babesiosis does not appear to be related to the degree of parasitemia or splenic function and its onset may be early or late. NCPE usually resolves rapidly with supportive treatment; it is rarely fatal. Clinicians should suspect NCPE in patients with babesiosis who acutely develop shortness of breath and have chest radiograph findings compatible with acute pulmonary edema without cardiomegaly or pleural effusions.
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PMID:Pulmonary complications of babesiosis: case report and literature review. 1755 89

This study was done to compare the ability of a newly developed rapid malaria test OPtiMAL, an immunochromatographic antigen detection assay for the diagnosis of malaria using parasite lactate dehydrogenase, against standard microscopy. Blood samples were obtained from 232 patients suspected of having malaria. A total of 122 samples (52.5%) were positive by blood films while 118 (50.8%) were positive by OPtiMAL test. The blood film indicated that 21.4% (26 of 122) of the patients were positive for P. falciparum and 78.6% (96 of 122) were infected with P. vivax. OPtiMAL test showed that 21.2% (25 of 118) were positive for P. falciparum and 78.8% (93 of 118) were infected with P. vivax. This assay had sensitivities of 88.4% and 96.8% compared to traditional blood films for detection of P. falciparum and P. vivax malaria respectively. Thus OPtiMAL test can be used with or without traditional blood film examination for detection of both P. vivax and P. falciparum malaria and can be effectively used for the rapid diagnosis of malaria.
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PMID:Comparison of parasite lactate dehydrogenase based immunochromatographic antigen detection assay (optimal) with microscopy for detection of malaria parasites. 1764 5

When travellers return from malaria-endemic areas and present to hospital with fever, microscopy of blood smears remains the leading method to verify a suspected diagnosis of malaria. Additional laboratory abnormalities may, however, also be indicative of acute malaria infection. We monitored prospectively a group of patients with imported Plasmodium falciparum (n=28) or P. vivax/P. ovale (n=12) infection, respectively, and assessed haemoglobin, leucocytes, thrombocytes, C-reactive protein, coagulation factor II-VII-X, lactate dehydrogenase and bilirubin during 7 d of admission and weekly until d 28. For comparison, admission values of a group of febrile patients with suspected malaria, but with negative blood slides, were also assessed (n=66). The thrombocyte, leucocyte counts and coagulation factor II-VII-X were significantly lower in the malaria group compared to the non-malaria group, whereas the C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase and bilirubin were significantly higher in the malaria group. The differences were particularly strong with falciparum malaria. By contrast, haemoglobin levels were not affected. In conclusion, our study emphasizes the role of a few commonly analysed laboratory parameters, in particular thrombocyte counts, in guiding the clinician managing a returning traveller with fever.
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PMID:Laboratory indicators of the diagnosis and course of imported malaria. 1836 21

A study to assess the diagnostic capabilities of three parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pan-pLDH) tests, Vistapan), Carestart and Parabank), was conducted in Uganda. An HRP2 test, Paracheck-Pf), and a Giemsa-stained blood film were performed with the pLDH tests for outpatients with suspected malaria. In total, 460 subjects were recruited: 248 with positive blood films and 212 with negative blood films. Plasmodium falciparum was present in 95% of infections. Sensitivity above 90% was shown by two pLDH tests, Carestart (95.6%) and Vistapan (91.9%), and specificity above 90% by Parabank (94.3%) and Carestart (91.5%). Sensitivity decreased with low parasitaemia (chi(2) trend, P<0.001); however, all tests achieved sensitivity >90% with parasitaemia > or =100/microl. All tests had good inter-reader reliability (kappa>0.95). Two weeks after diagnosis, 4-10% of pLDH tests were still positive compared with 69.7% of the HRP2 tests. All tests had similar ease of use. In conclusion, two pLDH tests performed well in diagnosing P. falciparum malaria, and all pLDH tests became negative after treatment more quickly than the HRP2. Therefore the rapid test of choice for use with artemisinin-combination therapies in this area would be one of these new pLDH tests.
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PMID:Assessment of three new parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pan-pLDH) tests for diagnosis of uncomplicated malaria. 1803 79

An easy and reliable diagnostic method for malaria is highly desirable. We examined the recently introduced SD Bioline Malaria Antigen test, which detects Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase, with the additional aid of the presence or absence of thrombocytopenia to diagnose vivax malaria. We enrolled 732 patients with clinically suspected malaria in an area where vivax malaria is endemic. We performed microscopic examination of thin film, applied the SD Bioline Malaria Antigen test, and checked platelet counts. One hundred ninety-five patients were smear positive for vivax malaria. The sensitivity of the SD Bioline Malaria Antigen test was 96.4%, and its specificity was 98.9%. We found that 95.4% of malaria patients had thrombocytopenia, and the proportion with malaria increased as platelet counts decreased. A positive SD Bioline Malaria Antigen test when thrombocytopenia was present showed a 100% positive predictive value for vivax malaria. In conclusion, the SD Bioline Malaria Antigen test is a rapid and accurate diagnostic method for vivax malaria, and a platelet count can facilitate a rapid diagnosis of malaria.
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PMID:Rapid diagnosis of vivax malaria by the SD Bioline Malaria Antigen test when thrombocytopenia is present. 1816 Apr 49

Congenital malaria, defined as the presence of malaria parasites in the erythrocytes of newborns aged <7 days, was considered rare in endemic areas until recent studies started reporting high prevalence rates. Various theories have been postulated to explain this phenomenon, but they are not proven conclusively from research. Against this background, a prospective study was designed with the following objectives. To determine the prevalence of congenital malaria parasitaemia and identify possible risk factors amongst newborns delivered in O.O.U.T.H Sagamu, Ogun State. Over a 6-month period, 192 live newborns and their mothers were consecutively recruited into the study. Within 3 days of life, neonatal peripheral blood samples were collected for malaria screening by blood film microscopy and detection of plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) with the OptiMAL Rapid Malaria Test kit. Maternal peripheral blood samples were taken simultaneously, to check for malaria infestation by blood film microscopy, and questionnaires were administered on the mothers to identify possible factors associated with the development of neonatal parasitaemia. Neonatal clinical and laboratory data were recorded in a pro forma designed for the study. Data analysis was done with Epi-info version 6 software and level of significance set at <5%. Twenty-one of 192 newborns delivered in O.O.U.T.H within the study period were diagnosed as having congenital malaria by blood film microscopy, giving a prevalence rate of 10.9%. The main identified innate neonatal risk factor for congenital malaria parasitaemia was prematurity. First-order pregnancy, history of fever within 3 months of delivery and peripheral parasitaemia at delivery (p < 0.001) were the variables that were significantly higher in the mothers of the parasitemic newborns. We conclude that congenital malaria parasitaemia in tropical endemic areas is not rare. Pre-term neonates, infants of primigravidae, women with history of fever within 3 months of delivery and women with post-partum peripheral parasitaemia may benefit from routine screening for malaria.
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PMID:Possible risk factors for congenital malaria at a tertiary care hospital in Sagamu, Ogun State, South-West Nigeria. 1837 70


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