Long-Term Cognitive Sequelae of Cerebral Malaria in Vietnam Veterans

Abstract

The brains of fatal cases of cerebral malaria exhibit capillary occlusion, punctiform hemorrhages, and focal necrosis in subcortical white matter. Some studies have suggested that the brain pathology of survivors is similar to that of fatal cases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that cerebral malaria survivors would exhibit neuropsychological impairment due to the residual cerebral damage sustained from the infection. Vietnam veterans reporting a history of cerebral malaria were compared with a group of veterans with a history of combat-related injuries on standard neuropsychological tasks and on dichotic listening (DL). The cerebral malaria group performed worse on memory tasks and exhibited greater clinical impairments on DL, consistent with presumed disruption of subcortical white matter tracts.