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Malaria treatment efficacy compromised in certain HIV-positive patients
September 08, 2006A weakened immune response resulting from HIV infection can lead to trouble when it comes to treating malaria, according to a new study appearing in the Oct. 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.
"Our study demonstrates that HIV-1 infected patients with suppressed immunity represent, next to children and pregnant women, an additional vulnerable group for malaria," says Jean-Pierre Van geertruyden, MD, MSc, lead author of the article.
CD4 lymphocytes, white blood cells that serve a critical role in the immune response to malaria, are also the prime target for HIV. Low CD4 cell counts are a characteristic of HIV-induced immune suppression. In this study, Dr. Van geertruyden and colleagues from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium and the Tropical Disease Research Center in Zambia show that HIV-positive patients with low CD4 cell counts tended to have an increased risk of malaria treatment failure when compared to both HIV-negative patients and HIV-positive patients with higher CD4 cell counts.
Therefore, "HIV-1 associated immune suppression, rather than infection with HIV-1 per se, is the main determinant of malaria treatment outcome," says Dr. Van geertruyden.
This finding exposes a danger that implementing new malaria combination therapies to treat the disease in immune-suppressed patients could lead to the emergence and spread of antimalarial drug resistance. "This is a major concern, as antimalarial drug resistance is now generally acknowledged to be one of the greatest threats to our ability to roll back malaria," according to Dr. Van geertruyden.
The study suggests that malaria control and prevention, next to early diagnosis and a highly efficacious malaria treatment, are essential tools in areas where both diseases coexist. Furthermore, the interaction between antimalarial and antiretroviral therapies should continue to be examined in an effort to maximize the effects of therapy on both diseases and to decrease the malaria burden in HIV-infected individuals.
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Therefore, "HIV-1 associated immune suppression, rather than infection with HIV-1 per se, is the main determinant of malaria treatment outcome," says Dr. Van geertruyden.
This finding exposes a danger that implementing new malaria combination therapies to treat the disease in immune-suppressed patients could lead to the emergence and spread of antimalarial drug resistance. "This is a major concern, as antimalarial drug resistance is now generally acknowledged to be one of the greatest threats to our ability to roll back malaria," according to Dr. Van geertruyden.
The study suggests that malaria control and prevention, next to early diagnosis and a highly efficacious malaria treatment, are essential tools in areas where both diseases coexist. Furthermore, the interaction between antimalarial and antiretroviral therapies should continue to be examined in an effort to maximize the effects of therapy on both diseases and to decrease the malaria burden in HIV-infected individuals.
Infectious Diseases Society of America
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Drug industry, nonprofits join forces to fight world's neglected diseases
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Experts on both sides of the Atlantic applaud President Barack Obama and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, representing the European Union (EU) Presidency, for establishing a transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance, an urgent and growing problem that threatens patient safety and public health worldwide.
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The scientific ability to quickly and accurately identify species through DNA "barcoding" is being embraced and applied by a growing legion of global authorities - from medical and agricultural researchers to police and customs authorities to palaeontologists and others.
PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative shares strategy for developing 'next-generation' malaria vaccines
Marking its tenth anniversary year, the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) today unveiled a new strategy that sets the stage for an aggressive push targeting the long-term goal of eliminating and eradicating malaria. Malaria is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, killing nearly 900,000 people a year, most of them children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Global challenges and opportunities in fighting HIV/AIDS and neglected diseases
Responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and tackling so-called neglected tropical diseases are the focus of the November/December 2009 edition of Health Affairs.
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