Malondialdehydemia and parasitemia during acute phase of experimental Chagas' disease in mice.

Parasitemia and malondialdehydemia were compared during the acute phase of the infection caused by the CL and Y strains of T. cruzi. Parasitemia was measured by counting blood trypomastigote forms, and malondialdehydemia by a colorimetric method. The duration of the acute phase of Chagas' disease was correlated with malondialdehydemia in both CL and Y strains. The correlations between parasitemia and duration of the acute phase, as well as between parasitemia and malondialdehydemia, were significant only in the group infected with the CL strain. These data suggest that malondialdehydemia may be an adequate parameter for evaluating and monitoring the acute phase in experimental Chagas' disease.