Achilles’ heel found for malaria

[pokerfan]

Malaria kills around a million people every year. Ninety percent of malaria-related deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, with ~60% of deaths being young children under the age of five


A Plasmodium sporozoite traverses the cytoplasm of a mosquito midgut epithelial cell in this false-color electron micrograph.

Scientists from the University of Edinburgh worked with collaborators from Cameroon, Mali, Kenya and The Gambia to test their antibodies against parasites collected from patients.

Scientists have identified a link between different strains of malaria parasites that cause severe disease. The development could help develop vaccines or drugs against life-threatening cases of the infection.

Researchers have identified a key protein that is common to many potentially fatal forms of the condition. They found that antibodies that targeted this protein were effective against these severe malaria strains.

http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/all-news/200412-malaria

[Lawlbringer]

1. I always found it to be odd

that Africans have the highest rate of Sickle Cell trait (and full blow sickle cell anemia) which renders the people affected with an immunity to Malaria.

[intaglio]

2. Evolution's cheap and dirty solution

Problem is the side effects.

[Warpy]

4. Some of the side effects are ameliorated by eating black yams

and local tradition prevents eating black yams (high in thiocyanate) during peak malaria seasons, thus allowing more sickling to occur during the malaria season while preventing it during the dry season.

The combination of a cheap and dirty evolutionary solution plus a cultural and agricultural tradition to decrease the miserable side effects has always been fascinating to me.

[intaglio]

5. That is new to me, thanks

I always wondered if there were traditional practises that ameliorated SCD

[Warpy]

6. The whole thing has fascinated me for years

A quick n dirty online rundown of this and other examples is at http://courses.washington.edu/anth457/disease.htm

[BlueIris]

3. Welcome, Achilles. nt