Sleeping sickness parasite uses multiple metabolic pathways

[Jackb23]

“Trypanosomes cause human sleeping sickness and animal African trypanosomiases, which are a range of devastating but neglected tropical diseases affecting cattle, other livestock and horses. The mammalian stage of the parasite circulates in the bloodstream, a nutrient-rich environment with constant temperature and pH and high glucose concentration. Bloodstream-form African trypanosomes are thought to rely exclusively upon a metabolic pathway called glycolysis, using glucose as a substrate, for ATP production. In contrast to this view, Horn and colleagues show that bloodstream-form trypanosomes can use glycerol for ATP production and for gluconeogenesis -- a metabolic pathway that results in the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate carbon substrates.”

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181227150616.htm
Don’t know what implications this study might directly postulate when mulling over the similarities between this illness and me/cfs, but found it interesting none the less.