[ad_1]
A study found that babies born with high levels of an immune protein in their blood cells are less likely to develop malaria during their infancy.
The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, examined a number of immunity proteins, called cytokines, at birth and investigated whether these small proteins provided protection against malaria for newborns .
Infantile malaria remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, with 500,000 deaths per year and more than 90% of malaria infections in sub-Saharan Africa.
"We found that neonates born with the elevated level of some type of cytokine, known as IL-12, in the umbilical cord blood had a higher resistance to the development of malaria during the first two years of their lives, "said Yong Song of Curtin University in Australia. "Our research also investigated how newborns develop high levels of IL-12 in the umbilical cord blood." We found that the inbred quantity of these small proteins was not only influenced by the genetic variations of the children, but also dependent on the conditions of the mother's immune system during pregnancy, "Song said.
The research examined 349 Mozambican pregnant women and their newborns up to the age of two years.
"The study could have" For future vaccine design techniques that could help to prevent malaria in high-risk countries like Mozambique, "said Brad Zhang, an badociate professor at Curtin's School of Public Health
. -12 could protect infants against infantile malaria, but the results suggest that there is a close connection between the levels of this particular protein obtained from umbilical cord blood and the development of malaria in early childhood ", Zhang said. It has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
[ad_2]
Source link
