Mini-review and situation report on the role and usefulness of nuclear medicine imaging for malaria

Abstract

Malaria remains one of the deadliest parasitic diseases globally. Delay or failure in treatment can lead to the development of severe malaria. Severe malaria, an understudied multisystem disease, affects the host’s organs and can lead to several syndromes and serious complications, some effecting life-long neurological and cognitive sequela. There is a lack in knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying severe malaria pathogenesis, and research has mostly relied on post-mortem studies and animal models, both of which lack translatability to human malaria. This review presents the clinical nuclear imaging techniques used in malaria. Although the presented radiopharmaceuticals have added value to understand some aspects of severe malaria, there has been in stagnation in development of more malaria-specific radiopharmaceuticals. This manuscript highlights the current limitations for implementing improved radiopharmaceuticals and provides valuable insights on how these challenges can be overcome.