Abstract
The values of each cholesterol fraction and lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase activity in serum were calculated simultaneously in canine dirofilariasis of various severity. In the mild dirofilariasis, the serum free cholesterol value increased (p<0.01) and both cholesterol ester ratio and lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase activity decreased (p<0.01), as compared with those in the normal healthy case. In the severe case which presented most serious clinical signs and liver dysfunction, the serum free cholesterol concentration approximately doubled (p<0.005) that of controls, the ester ratio was about 30 percent lower (p<0.005) than the normal, and lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase activity decreased to approximately 40 percent of the normal (p<0.005). Moreover, the serum free cholesterol value was about 20 percent larger (p<0.05), and the ester ratio about 10 percent smaller (p<0.05) than that of the mild case. Lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase activity tended to be lower than that in the mild case, though with no significant difference. There was no significant difference either in serum total cholesterol between any case of severity and the control. In all the cases, from the control to the severe one, a relatively high correlation was shown between serum free cholesterol value and lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase activity (γ=-0.75). A relatively low correlation, however, was noticed between lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase activity and ester ratio (γ=0.48). It was concluded that, in canine dirofilariasis, the scrum free cholesterol value increased with the advance in severity of the disease, and that there was a correlation between A/G ratio determined by the liver function test and the serum free cholesterol value in individual cases.
