Review
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Transl Med. Apr 12, 2014; 3(1): 9-16
Published online Apr 12, 2014. doi: 10.5528/wjtm.v3.i1.9
Neurological and behavioral manifestations of cerebral malaria: An update
Marta Chagas Monteiro, Fabio Rodrigues Oliveira, Gedeao Batista Oliveira, Pedro Roosevelt Torres Romao, Cristiane Socorro Ferraz Maia
Marta Chagas Monteiro, Cristiane Socorro Ferraz Maia, Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Ciencias Farmaceuticas, Instituto de Ciencias da Saude, Universidade Federal do Para, Rua Augusto Correa, Campus Universitario do Guama, Belem, PA 66075900, Brazil
Marta Chagas Monteiro, Fabio Rodrigues Oliveira, Gedeao Batista Oliveira, Cristiane Socorro Ferraz Maia, Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Laboratory of inflammation and behavior, Federal University of Para/UFPA, Belem, PA 66075900, Brazil
Pedro Roosevelt Torres Romao, Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Ciencias da Saude, Universidade Federal de Ciencias da Saude de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS 90050170, Brazil
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Cristiane Socorro Ferraz Maia, PhD, Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Laboratory of inflammation and behavior, Federal University of Para/UFPA, Rua Augusto Correia SN, Guama, Belem, PA 66075900, Brazil. crismaia@ufpa.br
Telephone: +55-91-32018826 Fax: +55-91-32017201
Received: December 28, 2013
Revised: March 6, 2014
Accepted: March 13, 2014
Published online: April 12, 2014
Processing time: 106 Days and 19.1 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: This review attempts to compile the limited current knowledge on the behavioral and cognitive effects of cerebral malaria (CM) and the possible pathological mechanisms related to neurobehavioral manifestations. CM induces acute/chronic neurological damage, affecting several Central Nervous System regions responsible for behavioral, neurological and cognitive functions which may result in motor deficits, epilepsy, blindness, speech/hearing and memory/attention disorders, hyperactivity, anxiety-like behavior, neuropsychiatric manifestations of post malaria neurological syndrome, both in humans and animal models. The action mechanisms involved in the alterations are not yet clearly defined; however proinflammatory mediators have been described with consequent axonal damage and demyelination.