Serum concentration of high density lipoproteins (HDLs) in leishmaniotic dogs.

In order to assess whether the concentration of high density lipoproteins (HDLs) changes in leishmaniotic dogs before and after treatment, HDL cholesterol (HDL-Chol and HDL%), C reactive protein (CRP) and activity of the antioxidant enzyme paraoxonase (PON-1) were measured in sera from 10 controls and 10 leishmaniotic dogs. Seven of these latter were sampled also 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after treatment with antimonials and allopurinol. HDL-chol, and PON-1 were low in leishmaniotic dogs at admission and increased after treatment. HDL-chol and HDL% correlated positively with PON-1 and negatively with CRP suggesting that HDLs decrease through an oxidative mechanism. Therefore, HDLs may be used to monitor the magnitude of oxidation associated with inflammation in leishmaniotic dogs.