EFFECTS OF A COMBINATION THERAPY OF PRAZIQUANTEL AND IVERMECTIN ON SWISS ALBINO FEMALE MICE HOSTING SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI ADULT WORMS, EGYPTIAN STRAIN
Dalia Shafey* , Yousry Hawash*, Doha Maher Taie**, Fatma Eldesoky Ahmed*** , Marwa Ahmed Gouda*
*Clinical and Molecular Parasitology Department, National Liver Institute (NLI), Menoufia University, Shebin Al Koom, Menoufia, Egypt
**Pathology Department, National Liver Institute (NLI), Menoufia University, Shebin Alkoom, Menoufia, Egypt
***Clinical pharmacology department Faculty of Medicine Menoufia University
Development of tolerance and/or resistance to praziquantel, the sole effective drug for schistosomiasis morbidity control, is a major public health threat. One way to offset or delay the emergence of drug resistance is to use alternative treatment regimens. In this sense, we aimed to explore the effects of praziquantel PZQ (500 mg/kg) in conjunction with ivermectin IVM (0.2 mg/kg) on adult worms, hepatic granuloma, hepatosplenic indices and two biochemical parameters using Schistosoma mansoni murine model. The effects of PZQ/IVM therapy were analyzed in comparison to non-infected, infected non-treated, PZQ-treated and IVM-treated mice groups. The dual-drug therapy eliminated all female worms and remarkably reduced the male worm count. Analysis of the scanning electron microscope images revealed injuries of varying kinds upon the surface topography of the schistosomes upon PZQ/IVM treatment. A highly significant difference was found between the mice groups regarding the average diameters and the mean number of detected liver granuloma, especially for PZQ/IVM-treated mice. Moreover, secondary beneficial effects on serum alanine aminotransferase, serum albumin levels, mice body weight and liver index were also noted. The current study suggests that PZQ/IVM combination may act a part in controlling schistosomiasis and deserve further attention. Further studies are recommended to address the actual pathways responsible for the exerted activities.
June 2017