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allied
academies
Nov 22-23, 2018 | Paris, France
Joint Event
Nutrition and Health
16
th
International Conference on
26
th
International Conference on
Diabetes and Endocrinology
&
Journal of Insights in Nutrition and Metabolism | Volume 2
Diabetes infection and malaria immunity: A case in diabetic patients in the central region of Ghana
Paulina Ampomah, Quarme Amponsah Boahene
and
Harrison Tawiah Nfodwo
University of Cape Coast, Ghana
I
n Ghana, non-communicable diseases (diabetes and
hypertension) contribute to about 86,000 deaths annually.
NCDs and infectious diseases (malaria and HIV Aids) are
among the top ten killers in Ghana. Both malaria and type 2
diabetes are immune compromised diseases that pose a major
challenge to health and therefore require immediate attention.
We recruited diabetic patients from 9 major hospitals across
the central region of Ghana and obtained about 3milliliters
of venous or finger prick blood after an informed consent
form was signed. We determined fasting blood sugar (FBS)
levels by glucometer and parasitemia by microscopy (n=260).
Plasma was isolated and used to serologically measure specific
antimalarial antibodies to 3 important Plasmodium falciparum
antigens (MSP1; AMA1 and Crude Schizont antigens) and
determined the proportions of white blood cells (WBC) of
importance (neutrophils and lymphocytes) (n=46). Data was
compared healthy individuals (n=56). Anti-diabetic drug in use
was retrieved from patient’s folder to determine drug efficacy.
Preliminary results show a marked increase in antimalarial
specific antibodies to all three P. falciparum antigens and a
moderate rise in WBC counts in diabetic patients compared
to healthy and hypertensive individuals. Only 3.8% of the 260
had malaria parasite in their blood. Patients with high FBS
(>7.0mmol/L) are at 4.2x risk of malaria infection. To conclude,
we show that effective management of diabetes provides
patients with enormous immune protection against themalaria
parasite.
Speaker Biography
Paulina Ampomah graduated from University of Copenhagen, Denmark as a biomedical
scientist with specialty in B cell immunity and lymphocyte exhaustion markers. She is a
lecturer at the University of Cape Coast where she is continuing with her research work.
e:
pampomah@ucc.edu.gh