Exercise and Diet Could Offset Effects of Malaria

13 Jan 2017 --- The right amount of diet and exercise could help lessen damage caused to the heart and skeletal muscles after contracting malaria, according to a new UTA study. The article was published in The Malaria Journal and written by Mauro Marrelli, an internationally renowned entomologist, parasitologist and molecular biologist.

Each year, malaria afflicts more than 500 million people in scores of countries around the world, killing more than 400,000, according to the World Health Organization.

However, Marco Brotto, the George W. and Hazel M. Jay Professor in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at The University of Texas Arlington, said most studies on fighting malaria focus on the mosquito-borne parasite that causes the illness while ignoring the impact of the disease on skeletal muscles and the heart.

Moderate or high levels of malaria infection typically affect skeletal muscles and the heart, Brotto said, adding “Residual effects could be from the heart being weaker for some time to permanently suffering some damage.”

“Muscles are also very similar. If you develop chronic myopathy, it becomes harder to get in shape. The parasite takes away the normal ability of the blood cells to carry nutrients and oxygen to the body. That triggers the process of the demise.”

He noted that even those with mild cases of malaria report a lot of muscle soreness and fatigue, stressing that people who eat healthy diets and exercise will be in a stronger position to vanquish the disease and to do so in a shorter amount of time.

“There are interventions you could take prior to or in anticipation of an infection in order to improve the muscular and heart function,” he said.

“People would not feel so tired and so weak if they have a targeted intervention.”

Examples of these interventions include anti-oxidant therapy through diet and medication. The authors recommend eating more uncooked fruits and vegetables and fiber as well as increasing protein intake through the consumption of meat, poultry, fish, legumes and protein shakes or powders, particularly those with some specific combinations of amino acid derivatives such as hydroxyl beta-methylbutyric acid or HMB.

Exercise is a great tool for combating the infection, too, he said.

“The better shape you're in, the more prepared you will be to fight the infection,” he said.

He added that understanding strategies for treating malaria is more important than ever because Americans travel around the world in record numbers, with many visiting countries where malaria is prevalent. In addition, more US military personnel are deployed to regions where the disease is rampant, including South America, Africa and the Middle East.

“Diseases increasingly transcend borders. This is a terrific example of how the work we do here at the college crosses borders,” said Anne Bavier, Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Innovation.

“Marco's work on malaria is a reminder that when we work to improve health and the human condition, we must look at how we can do it globally.”