Brain
Swelling Tied to Deaths from Malaria
Summary
Malaria, a disease
caused by a parasite spread by mosquitoes, is a chief killer in the tropics. In
2013, there were 198 million cases worldwide. Of the 198 million, 500,000
people passed away, and they were mostly children in Africa. Although there is
no current vaccine for this disease, drugs can prevent the infection and treat
it. However, malaria can still be rapidly fatal with the treatment, especially
in young children.
An extremely dangerous form of the disease is
cerebral malaria. This specific form involves the brain and can lead to a coma
and death. About fifteen to twenty-five percent of the African children who are
infected by this disease die. The children who do survive it can be left deaf,
blind, or with learning disabilities. A study conducted concluded that when
children die from a severe form of malaria, cerebral edema occurs. Cerebral
edema is a fancy term for brain swelling. Researchers suspect that this study
will lead to improved treatments.
Doctors
suspected that brain swelling played a role in fatal cases, but the evidence
was not certain. Being optimistic, Malawi researchers executed M.R.I. scans on
168 children who exhibited symptoms of cerebral malaria. Twenty-five of the
children died, and twenty-one had severe cerebral edema. Dr. Terrie E. Taylor
concluded that the children stopped breathing because the respiratory center in
the brain stem is compressed by the swelling. Dr. Taylor also went on to say
that some children can be saved by ventilators because they will maintain their
breathing through the worst part of the brain swelling.
Analysis
All in all, I
hope eventually there is a cure for malaria one day. Children are our future;
without them there will be no future. It is incredibly sad to see and hear
about hordes of children dying with this severe disease. Until there is a cure
for malaria, or even if there is never one, there definitely needs to be
improved treatments and/or medications for the disease.
Shane’ Lennon
3/20/15
9:26pm
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