Scientists say they may be a step closer to a cure for malaria, thanks to research published Tuesday, according to The World Bank Press Review.
Edinburgh University researchers found that people with blood type O are two thirds less likely to experience the most life-threatening effects of severe malaria.
They now hope to develop drugs which mimic (efterligner, red.) the properties of red cells in O blood. That might help to develop vaccines to diminish the damage of an infection.
Every year, about two million people around the world die from malaria.
BLODTYPE O “BLOKERER” SYGDOMMEN
The scientists, along with colleagues from the United States, Mali and Kenya, studied malaria in around 600 children in Mali, West Africa.
They found type O red blood cells were more resistant to the “rosetting” (dannelse af rosetter, eller klumper, i blodet) caused by the disease, which blocks blood vessels supplying oxygen to the brain.
If a drug or a vaccine to mimic the effect of being blood group O can be developed, it may be possible to reduce the number of children dying from malaria.
The research was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the National Institutes of Health.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
