title: Cerebral malaria: insight into pathogenesis, complications and molecular biomarkers.
abstract: Cerebral malaria is a medical emergency. All patients withPlasmodium falciparummalaria with neurologic manifestations of any degree should be urgently treated as cases of cerebral malaria. Pathogenesis of cerebral malaria is due to damaged vascular endothelium by parasite sequestration, inflammatory cytokine production and vascular leakage, which result in brain hypoxia, as indicated by increased lactate and alanine concentrations. The levels of the biomarkers' histidine-rich protein II, angiopoietin-Tie-2 system and plasma osteoprotegrin serve as diagnostic and prognostic markers. Brain imaging may show neuropathology around the caudate and putamen. Mortality is high and patients who survive sustain brain injury which manifests as long-term neurocognitive impairments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences.
authors.forename: Farah Hafiz
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Yusuf
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences.
authors.forename: Muhammad Yusuf
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Hafiz
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shoaib
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Sindh Medical College, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Syed Ahsanuddin
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ahmed
keywords: biomarkers; brain imaging; cerebral malaria; mortality; neurologic manifestations