• Benson J Ouma, John M Ssenkusu, Estela Shabani, Dibyadyuti Datta, Robert O Opoka, Richard Idro, Paul Bangirana, Gregory Park, Moses L Joloba, Kevin C Kain, Chandy C John, and Andrea L Conroy.
• Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
• Crit. Care Med. 2020 Sep 1; 48 (9): e734-e743.

ObjectivesEvaluate the relationship between endothelial activation, malaria complications, and long-term cognitive outcomes in severe malaria survivors.DesignProspectively cohort study of children with cerebral malaria, severe malarial anemia, or community children.SettingMulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.SubjectsChildren 18 months to 12 years old with severe malaria (cerebral malaria, n = 253 or severe malarial anemia, n = 211) or community children (n = 206) were followed for 24 months.InterventionsNone.Measurements And Main ResultsChildren underwent neurocognitive evaluation at enrollment (community children) or a week following hospital discharge (severe malaria) and 6, 12, and 24 months follow-up. Endothelial activation was assessed at admission on plasma samples (von Willebrand factor, angiopoietin-1 and angiopoietin-2, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, soluble E-Selectin, and P-Selectin). False discovery rate was used to adjust for multiple comparisons. Severe malaria was associated with widespread endothelial activation compared with community children (p < 0.0001 for all markers). Acute kidney injury was independently associated with changes in von Willebrand factor, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, soluble E-Selectin, P-Selectin, and angiopoietin-2 (p < 0.0001 for all). A log10 increase in angiopoietin-2 was associated with lower cognitive z scores across age groups (children < 5, β -0.42, 95% CI, -0.69 to -0.15, p = 0.002; children ≥ 5, β -0.39, 95% CI, -0.67 to -0.11, p = 0.007) independent of disease severity (coma, number of seizures, acute kidney injury) and sociodemographic factors. Angiopoietin-2 was associated with hemolysis (lactate dehydrogenase, total bilirubin) and inflammation (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-10). In children with cerebral malaria who had a lumbar puncture performed, angiopoietin-2 was associated with blood-brain barrier dysfunction, and markers of neuroinflammation and injury in the cerebrospinal fluid (tumor necrosis factor-α, kynurenic acid, tau).ConclusionsThese data support angiopoietin-2 as a measure of disease severity and a risk factor for long-term cognitive injury in children with severe malaria.

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