Title |
Psychiatric effects of malaria and anti-malarial drugs: historical and modern perspectives
|
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Published in |
Malaria Journal, June 2016
|
DOI | 10.1186/s12936-016-1391-6 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Remington L. Nevin, Ashley M. Croft |
Abstract |
The modern medical literature implicates malaria, and particularly the potentially fatal form of cerebral malaria, with a risk of neurocognitive impairment. Yet historically, even milder forms of malaria were associated in the literature with a broad range of psychiatric effects, including disorders of personality, mood, memory, attention, thought, and behaviour. In this article, the history of psychiatric effects attributed to malaria and post-malaria syndromes is reviewed, and insights from the historical practice of malariotherapy in contributing to understanding of these effects are considered. This review concludes with a discussion of the potentially confounding role of the adverse effects of anti-malarial drugs, particularly of the quinoline class, in the unique attribution of certain psychiatric effects to malaria, and of the need for a critical reevaluation of the literature in light of emerging evidence of the chronic nature of these adverse drug effects. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 22 | 21% |
United Kingdom | 10 | 10% |
Australia | 6 | 6% |
Brazil | 5 | 5% |
Canada | 2 | 2% |
India | 1 | <1% |
Hong Kong | 1 | <1% |
Spain | 1 | <1% |
Ireland | 1 | <1% |
Other | 2 | 2% |
Unknown | 52 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 90 | 87% |
Scientists | 8 | 8% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 3 | 3% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 2 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Kenya | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 152 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 26 | 17% |
Student > Bachelor | 18 | 12% |
Researcher | 16 | 10% |
Student > Postgraduate | 12 | 8% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 9 | 6% |
Other | 25 | 16% |
Unknown | 47 | 31% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 27 | 18% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 12 | 8% |
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 12 | 8% |
Chemistry | 11 | 7% |
Psychology | 7 | 5% |
Other | 32 | 21% |
Unknown | 52 | 34% |