Pathological changes in the brains of rabbits experimentally infected with Angiostrongylus cantonensis after albendazole treatment: histopathological and magnetic resonance imaging studies.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the effects of albendazole on rabbits infected with larvae of Angiostrongylus cantonensis by histopathological and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques.


METHODS
Male rabbits were infected with 400 A. cantonensis larvae and treated with albendazole (5 mg/kg/day) for 2-14 days on day 5, 10, 15 or 20 post-infection.


RESULTS
Although there were pathological changes in the brains, MRI revealed unremarkable findings in the untreated group. However, the treated rabbits exhibited eosinophilic meningitis, choroid plexus inflammation, meningeal congestion, encephalitis, perivascular cuffing and meningitis, and were also found to have abnormal signal intensities on brain MR images in the 20 day post-infection treated group.


CONCLUSIONS
Pathological changes in the brains of the treated rabbits are more severe than those without albendazole treatment, suggesting that the drug may not be very suitable for the treatment of cerebral angiostrongyliasis.
Wang
Lian-Chen
LC
Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Chang-Gung University, and Department of Pathology, Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, Kueisan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
Jung
Shih-Ming
SM
Chen
Chien-Chuan
CC
Wong
Ho-Fai
HF
Wan
Dinah-Pingni
DP
Wan
Yung-Liang
YL
D015766:Albendazole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017185:Angiostrongylus cantonensis; D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002831:Choroid Plexus / Q000473:pathology; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000473:pathology; D007814:Larva; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008581:Meningitis / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits; D017206:Strongylida Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*
D000871:Anthelmintics; D015766:Albendazole