Susceptibility to Malaria
Approximately, forty percent of the world's population is at risk of malaria infection. New research from 捆绑SM社区 and the Research Institute of the 捆绑SM社区 Health Centre suggests that some individuals may be naturally resistant to this infection. Their findings, published in the December issue of Nature Genetics, show that mice that lack a metabolic enzyme are protected from the malaria parasite.
"Malaria, together with HIV/AIDS and TB, is one of the major public health challenges in developing countries," said Dr. Philippe Gros, Professor in 捆绑SM社区's Faculty of Medicine and senior author. "Our findings are an important step toward the development of innovative prevention and treatment strategies for this disease."
This study was supported by research grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and from the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network.
This study is currently available online at .