Saira Baloch, Ashok Kumar, Bikha Ram Devrajani and Mohsin Ali Baloch
Background and Objective: Cerebral malaria (CM) is the most
serious and life-threatening complication of malaria, caused by
plasmodium falciparum. To know the significance of excitatory amino
acids, the Aspartic acid (Asp) and the Glutamic acid (Glu) in causing
neurotoxic effects, we analyzed their levels in the CSF of cerebral
malarial patients.
Material and Methods: We developed a High-performance liquid
chromatographic method, based on a pre-column derivatization with
ophthal aldehyde to quantitate levels of those amino acids.
Results: In comparison to the control subjects, the levels of both
amino acids (Asp and Glu) were found to be highly elevated in
cerebral malarial patients. The patients showed aggravating
neurogenic signs and symptoms.
Conclusion: The significant elevation reflects the neurotoxic effects
of these amino acids in cerebral malarial patients.