A role for cadherin in malaria disease severity fits well with our current understanding of the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria in P. falciparum in which it is believed that adhesion of parasite-infected cells causes slowing of blood flow and perhaps blocking of microcapillaries, leading to higher shear forces, oxidative stress and inflammatory responses that damage the vascular endothelium, compromise the blood brain barrier, and ultimately result in life-threatening disease (Storm and Craig 2014). Here, CDH17 is linked to malaria.