CD36 is the quantitatively most important receptor as almost all non‐placental P. falciparum isolates derived from patients bind to it, but a major role of CD36 in cerebral malaria is uncertain because (i) the degree of binding to CD36 by iRBCs isolated from malaria patients did not correlate with severity of the disease (Newbold et al., 1997) and (ii) CD36 expression levels on brain endothelial cells was found to be low in CM patients (Turner et al., 1994). This evidence concerns the gene CD36 and cerebral malaria.