Encephalitis Unraveled: The Unlikely Encounter of Sickle Cell Disease and Cerebral Malaria in a Teenager

TL;DR

This paper discusses a rare case where a teenager with sickle cell disease developed encephalitis and cerebral malaria, highlighting the unusual interaction between these conditions.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel clinical case linking sickle cell disease with cerebral malaria and encephalitis in a teenager.

Findings

Sickle cell disease can co-occur with cerebral malaria in rare cases.

The interaction between sickle cell disease and cerebral malaria can lead to encephalitis.

Cerebral malaria remains a severe and often fatal complication of malaria.

Abstract

Sickle-cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited blood disorders in which a mutation in the β-globin (HBB) gene causes red blood cells to produce abnormal hemoglobin, known as Hb S. SCD is characterized by an autosomal-recessive pattern of inheritance, implying that for a child to manifest the condition, they must inherit an Hb S allele from both parents (HbSS) or one Hb S allele and another β-globin variant, such as Hb C or β-thalassemia (HbSC, HbS/β-thal). It has been observed that (heterozygote) carriers of one copy of the sickle-cell trait (HbAS) are typically healthy and can even gain partial protection from severe malaria. The term “severe and complicated malaria” is delineated based on specific clinical and laboratory characteristics in the presence of Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia. The prevalent forms of severe malaria among African children include cerebral malaria, respiratory distress, and severe malaria anemia. Cerebral malaria is a rare complication of malaria infection and is associated with a high mortality rate.

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