Trypanosome specific antibody profile in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of T. b. gambiense patients

Human infection with T.b. gambiense is characterized by an early stage with the parasites dwelling in lymph and blood, followed by a stage in which the trypanosomes invade the central nervous system, leading to neuropathological events and eventually death. Routinely, the main criteria to diagnose second stage trypanosomiasis are related to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF): presence of trypanosomes, increased white blood cell count and prtein content. The imprecision of these dterminations, together with the arbitrary cut-off values prescribed, is in contrast with the risk of dramatic side-effects associated with Arsobal treatment. Our laboratory started an investigation aiming at trypanosome antibody profile in serum and CSF and parameters for impairment of the blood-brain-barrier. For a limited number of T.b. gambiense trypanosomiasis patients, the following determinations have been performed on serum and CSF by means of nephelometry and ELISA: albumin, total protein, total and trypanosome-specific IgG, IgM, IgA, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4. The results of this study will be presented.