Chemotherapeutic studies on Litomosoides carinii infection of Mastomys natalensis. 8. The action of furazolidone on adult worms and microfilariae

Tropenmed Parasitol. 1979 Sep;30(3):376-82.

Abstract

After oral administration of furazolidone in doses of 5 x 50 mg/kg and 1 x 100 mg/kg body weight to Litomosoides carinii--infected Mastomys natalensis microfilaraemia decreased continuously and was reduced by more than 98% 42 days after start of treatment. After the 5-day treatment all adult female and male worms were found dead and encapsulated within 2 weeks, whereas after the single dose 100% of the female parasites were encapsulated 28 days after treatment. In untreated animals quantiative examinations of the intrauterine stages showed an average number of 500 x 103 embryos per adult female worm. Following the 5-day treatment the number of embryos per female parasite was reduced after 42 days to 12.5 x 103, and after the single treatment to 26.9 x 103. By classification into 5 different stages (2- and 4-cell stages, Morula stage, "Horse-shoe" stage, "Ring" and "Brezel" stages, and intruterine microfilariae) an embryogram showed a continuous increase in pathologically-altered embryos during the whole observation period. The 2- and 4-cell stages suffered the most damaged. By 16 days after the end of the 5-day treatment and by 28 days after the single treatment all embryonic stages in the uteri were found to be pathologically altered. Furazolidone possessess high macrofilaricidal activity together with a considerable adverse effect on embryognesis and some delayed effect on microfilaraemia.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Ascitic Fluid / parasitology
  • Blood / parasitology
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian / drug effects
  • Female
  • Filariasis / drug therapy*
  • Filarioidea / drug effects*
  • Furazolidone / pharmacology*
  • Furazolidone / therapeutic use
  • Male
  • Microfilariae / drug effects
  • Pleural Effusion / parasitology
  • Rodentia

Substances

  • Furazolidone