Cerebral malaria: of mice and men
Abstract
Background: Cerebral malaria is a major cause of death in endemic areas. An animal model of cerebral malaria has been studied widely in which C57BL/6 mice are infected with the Plasmodium berghei ANKA strain. The histopathology and the response to interventions of human cerebral malaria and the murine model are very different. In 2012, a consensus guideline was published recommending that in order to represent better the clinical setting, interventions in the murine model should be tested together with antimalarial drug treatment and after development of the cerebral syndrome.
Methods: A systematic review of publications on human and murine cerebral malaria since 2010 was conducted.
Results: Clinical research on human cerebral malaria has declined and still no adjuvant intervention has proved effective. Meanwhile, since 2010, 149 interventions (118 adjuvants) have been evaluated in the mouse model, of which 142 (95%) were reportedly successful. Only 26% of interventions were evaluated after the development of the murine cerebral syndrome and 65% of the adjuvants were tested without a concomitant antimalarial.
Conclusion: The predictive value of the murine model in identifying adjuvant therapeutic interventions in human cerebral malaria is very poor.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a systematic review, done in animal, not in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Effect of dexamethasone as an analgesic adjuvant to multimodal pain treatment after total knee arthroplasty: randomised clinical trial
- Effect of a Postoperative Multimodal Opioid-Sparing Protocol vs Standard Opioid Prescribing on Postoperative Opioid Consumption After Knee or Shoulder Arthroscopy: A Randomized Clinical Trial
- Comparison of the Post-Caesarean Analgesic Effect of Adding Dexmedetomidine to Paracetamol and Ketorolac: A Randomized Clinical Trial
- A triple-blind randomized clinical trial of different associations between dexamethasone and non-steroids anti-inflammatories for preemptive action in third molar extractions
- An open label randomized clinical trial of Indomethacin for mild and moderate hospitalised Covid-19 patients
- Oral paracetamol and/or ibuprofen for treating pain after soft tissue injuries: Single centre double-blind, randomised controlled clinical trial
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.