Summary
Infection in mice and rats by the rodent specific malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei is associated with hypothermia, not fever. The mechanism(s) underlying the fall in temperature in this common laboratory model of human malaria may include a general debilitating effect of the infection, such as anaemia, on heat production and/or heat conservation in small animals. But in this study, the hypothermia in rats infected with Plasmodium berghei was also associated with an increased turnover in the brain of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin), a putative neurotransmitter reducing both food intake and body temperature in this species.
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© 1994 Springer Basel AG
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Dascombe, M.J., Sidara, J.Y. (1994). The Absence of Fever in Rat Malaria is Associated with Increased Turnover of 5-Hydroxytryptamine in the Brain. In: Milton, A.S. (eds) Temperature Regulation. Advances in Pharmacological Sciences. Birkhäuser, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-8491-4_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-8491-4_8
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Basel
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