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MalariaNCT00342043

Examination of Protective Factors Against Severe Malaria

An observational study of Malaria and Severe Malaria, run by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at 1 site in Mali.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the University of Bamako in Mali, Africa, will examine factors that may protect against progression of malaria from mild to severe disease. Infection with the malaria parasite causes disease ranging in severity from mild or no symptoms to severe. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages Up to 10 years
Conditions the study is for
Malaria, Severe Malaria
How many people
4,850 participants
Where
1 siteMali
Study dates
2 Aug 2005to 16 Apr 2009
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages Up to 10 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • All malaria patients enrolled in the case-control study will be less than 11 years old.
  • Uncomplicated malaria: Axillary temperature greater than 37.5 degrees Celsius or history of fever, signs and symptoms of malaria (e.g. headache, body aches, malaise), asexual parasite density less than 500,000 per microliter of blood, no criteria of severe malaria (see next paragraph), and no other etiologies of febrile illness (e.g. respiratory tract infection, cellulitis) on clinical examination.
  • Severe malaria: Asexual parasite density greater than or equal to 100,000/uL or parasitemia of any density plus any one of the following: coma (defined as Blantyre coma score less than or equal to 2), convulsions (witnessed by investigator), severe prostration, severe anemia (hemoglobin less than 5 g/dL), respiratory distress, hypoglycemia (serum glucose less than 40 mg/dL), jaundice/icterus, shock (systolic blood pressure less than 50 mmHg, rapid pulse, cool extremities), cessation of eating and drinking, repetitive vomiting.

Who cannot join

  • Patients who are parasitemic yet are found by clinical examination to have another etiology of febrile illness (e.g., respiratory tract infection, cellulitis) will not be formally enrolled into the protocol, but may be treated for both malaria and their coexisting infection by the study team.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Mali1 site
  • Malaria Research and Training Center

    Bamako

Other trials in Mali

About this study

Official title: Multidisciplinary Studies of Malaria Protection by Hemoglobinopathies and G6PD Deficiency in Mali

This study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the University of Bamako in Mali, Africa, will examine factors that may protect against progression of malaria from mild to severe disease. Infection with the malaria parasite causes disease ranging in severity from mild or no symptoms to severe. A better understanding of what factors protect against disease progression may help scientists develop improved methods of disease prevention and treatment. The objectives of this study are to:

  • Identify differences in protective factors for severe malaria in Malinke children residing in two Mali villages, Kela and Kangaba. Genetic variations in hemoglobin proteins called HbS and HbC appear to confer protection against severe disease in some children but not others. HbC appears to protect young Malinke children living in Kela, but not in nearby Kangaba, while HbS protects children in Kangaba but not in Kela. In addition, deficiency of an enzyme produced by red blood cells called G6PD protects males, but not females, from severe malaria.
  • Investigate how fetal hemoglobin (HbF) may protect against malaria in infants and determine how HbS, HbC, G6PD deficiency, and beta-thalassemia trait affect the rate of HbF decline during the first 2 years of life.
Read more

Children under 11 years of age who seek medical care at Kangaba or Kela health centers for symptoms of malaria may be eligible for this study. Each will be screened with a medical history, physical examination and blood test. In addition, healthy infants born to women referred to field site clinics may be enrolled for the newborn study. Participants undergo the following procedures:

Children with mild malaria are treated with artesunate and amodiaquine. Those with severe malaria are treated with quinine. Blood is collected by finger prick every day for 4 days to evaluate the response to treatment and for genetic testing. Some blood is stored for future research related to malaria.

Newborns have a heel or finger prick at 1, 3 and 6 months to collect a small blood sample for genetic testing. In addition, at the time of birth, a small amount of blood is collected from one of the blood vessels of the placenta. Some infants may be followed up to 2 years, with additional drops of blood taken at 12, 18 and 24 months. Some of the blood is stored for future research related to malaria.

Read the detailed description

Our previous case-control study (protocol #01-I-N020) established that hemoglobin (Hb) C protects against severe malaria in the Dogon ethnic group of Mali, West Africa. We believe that abnormal display of major parasite virulence antigens (PfEMP-1) on the surface of HbC erythrocytes accounts for this protection. Whether this mechanism mediates protection by other mutant erythrocytes remains to be investigated. The principal objective of the current protocol has been to investigate whether HbC also protects against severe malaria in the Malinke of Kela, which historically gave rise to the Dogon. Our preliminary data from protocol #02-I-N285 suggest that HbC but not HbS (sickle trait) protects the young Malinke children of Kela, with the opposite being true for the Malinke children of Kangaba, a nearby village. To confirm these novel preliminary findings and to investigate candidate mechanisms of protection, our ongoing case-control study requires an additional 150 severe malaria patients who are less than 5 years old, of Malinke ethnicity, reside in either Kangaba or Kela villages, and have normal G6PD activity. Children less than 11 years old and diagnosed with either severe (case) or uncomplicated (control) malaria will be tested for hemoglobinopathies and G6PD deficiency. Severe and uncomplicated malaria patients will be treated with parenteral quinine or oral artemisinin combination therapies, respectively, which are standard of care in Mali. Principal outcome measures will include a comparison of the frequency of HbC, HbS, and G6PD deficiency between cases and controls; with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals determining the degree and statistical significance of severe malaria protection.

Keywords
Sickle Trait, Fetal Hemoglobin, Hemoglobin C, Beta-Thalassemia, Artesunate-Amodiaquine
Medical subject headings
Malaria, beta-Thalassemia

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted21 Jun 2006 (estimated)
  2. Study start2 Aug 2005
  3. Study completion16 Apr 2009

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Enrolment
4,850 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00342043
Sponsor's protocol ID
999905214
Other IDs
05-I-N214
Status last verified
16 Apr 2009
First submitted
19 Jun 2006
Last updated
2 Jul 2017
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Agarwal A, Guindo A, Cissoko Y, Taylor JG, Coulibaly D, Kone A, Kayentao K, Djimde A, Plowe CV, Doumbo O, Wellems TE, Diallo D. Hemoglobin C associated with protection from severe malaria in the Dogon of Mali, a West African population with a low prevalence of hemoglobin S. Blood. 2000 Oct 1;96(7):2358-63.

    PubMed 11001883
  • Ayi K, Turrini F, Piga A, Arese P. Enhanced phagocytosis of ring-parasitized mutant erythrocytes: a common mechanism that may explain protection against falciparum malaria in sickle trait and beta-thalassemia trait. Blood. 2004 Nov 15;104(10):3364-71. doi: 10.1182/blood-2003-11-3820. Epub 2004 Jul 27.

    PubMed 15280204
  • Bard H. The postnatal decline of hemoglobin F synthesis in normal full-term infants. J Clin Invest. 1975 Feb;55(2):395-8. doi: 10.1172/JCI107943.

    PubMed 1127106

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Malaria and Severe Malaria, run by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at 1 site in Mali.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 2 Jul 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Mali. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00342043, which also lists 3 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 2 Jul 2017.

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