Postnatal zinc deficiency due to giardiasis disrupts hippocampal and cerebellar development

Giardiasis and zinc deficiency have been identified as serious health problems worldwide. Although Zn depletion is known to occur in giardiasis, no work has investigated whether changes occur in brain structures. Three groups of gerbils were used: control (1), orogastrically inoculated on day 3 after birth with trophozoites of two isolates of Giardia intestinalis (HGINV/WB) group (2 and 3). Estimates were made at five ages covering: establishment of infection, Giardia population growth, natural parasite clearance and a post-infection age. QuantiChrome zinc assay kit, cresyl violet staining and TUNEL technique were used. A significant decrease (p