Abstract

Adamu, S. , Barde, N. , Abenga, J. N. , Useh, N.M. , Ibrahim, N. D. G. and Esievo, K. A. N

The possible effects of Trypanosoma brucei (T. brucei) infection on serum levels of some lipids and cholesterol were studied in pigs. The infection with T. brucei caused significant decline in the serum levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and high density lipoprotein. Mean values of these parameters in the infected group were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those in the control group, in which the values remained relatively unchanged up to the termination of the experiment. However, the infection appeared not to have significant (P > 0.05) effect on serum low density lipoprotein level. Possible pathophysio-logical mechanisms involved in the T. brucei infection-induced lowering of the serum levels of lipids and cholesterol were highlighted just as evidences from literature suggest that the T. brucei infectioninduced alterations in the serum levels of the lipids and cholesterol could have far-reaching impli-cations on the clinical manifestation of the disease in affected animals and humans. It is imperative, therefore, to conduct more studies to identify biochemical differences, if any exist, between the trypanosomes and animal hosts in the metabolism of the lipids and cholesterol with the view to exploiting the findings in biotechnological development of drugs or other therapeutic approaches.