Publication: The sick placenta - The role of malaria
Issued Date
2004-01-01
Resource Type
ISSN
01434004
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-11144357394
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Mahidol University
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Placenta. Vol.25, No.5 (2004), 359-378
Suggested Citation
B. J. Brabin, C. Romagosa, S. Abdelgalil, C. Menéndez, F. H. Verhoeff, R. McGready, K. A. Fletcher, S. Owens, U. d'Alessandro, F. Nosten, P. R. Fischer, J. Ordi The sick placenta - The role of malaria. Placenta. Vol.25, No.5 (2004), 359-378. doi:10.1016/j.placenta.2003.10.019 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/21254
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Title
The sick placenta - The role of malaria
Other Contributor(s)
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Universitat de Barcelona
Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer - IDIBAPS
Manhiça Health Research Center
Shoklo Malaria Research Unit
Mahidol University
John Radcliffe Hospital
Prins Leopold Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
Emma Kinderziekenhuis
Mayo Clinic
Universitat de Barcelona
Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer - IDIBAPS
Manhiça Health Research Center
Shoklo Malaria Research Unit
Mahidol University
John Radcliffe Hospital
Prins Leopold Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
Emma Kinderziekenhuis
Mayo Clinic
Abstract
The human placenta is an ideal site for the accumulation of Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites, and as a consequence serious health problems arise for the mother and her baby. The pathogenesis of placental malaria is only partially understood, but it is clear that it leads to a distinct epidemiological pattern of malaria during pregnancy. The objectives of this review are: (1) To review recent data on the epidemiology of malaria in pregnancy, with emphasis on placental malaria; (2) to describe the pathological changes and immunological factors related to placental malaria; and (3) to discuss briefly the functional consequences of this infection for the mother and her baby. The review attempts to bring together local events at the maternal-fetal interface which encompass immunological and pathological processes which relate to the epidemiological pattern of malaria in pregnancy in areas of both high and low malaria transmission. An integrated understanding of the epidemiological, immunological and pathological processes must be achieved in order to understand how to control malaria in pregnancy. The yearly exposure of at least 50 million pregnancies to malaria infection makes it the commonest and most recurrent parasitic infection directly affecting the placenta. These statistics and our limited understanding of its pathogenesis suggest the research priorities on this subject. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.