Stem cell therapy: a novel treatment option for cerebral malaria?

Cerebral malaria, a severe form of the disease, is one of the most severe complications of infection with Plasmodium parasites and a leading cause of malaria mortality. Currently available antimalarial therapy has proven insufficient to prevent neurological complications and death in all cases of cerebral malaria. Souza and colleagues observed that transplantation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) increased survival, reduced parasitemia, decreased malaria pigment accumulation in the spleen, liver and kidney, elevated Kupffer cell count in liver, alleviated renal injury and lung inflammation, and improved lung mechanics in an experimental mouse model of cerebral malaria. Although plenty of challenges lie ahead, their findings show the promise of BM-MSC therapy for the treatment of cerebral malaria.