title: Pathological changes in the brains of rabbits experimentally infected with Angiostrongylus cantonensis after albendazole treatment: histopathological and magnetic resonance imaging studies.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Chang-Gung University, and Department of Pathology, Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, Kueisan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lian-Chen
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shih-Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Chien-Chuan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ho-Fai
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Dinah-Pingni
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.forename: Yung-Liang
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics; D015766:Albendazole