title: EVALUATION OF THE THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY OF LEVAMISOLE HYDROCHLORIDE ON THIRD-STAGE LARVAE OF Lagochilascaris minor IN EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED MICE.
abstract: Lagochilascariosis, a disease caused by Lagochilascaris minor, affects the neck, sinuses, tonsils, lungs, the sacral region, dental alveoli, eyeballs and the central nervous system of humans. A cycle of autoinfection may occur in human host tissues characterized by the presence of eggs, larvae and adult worms. This peculiarity of the cycle hinders therapy, since there are no drugs that exhibit ovicidal, larvicidal and vermicidal activity. Given these facts, we studied the action of levamisole hydrochloride on third-stage larvae in the migration phase (G1) and on encysted larvae (G3) of L. minor. To this end, 87 inbred mice of the C57BL/6 strain were divided into test groups comprising 67 animals (G1-37; G3-30) and a control group (G2-10; G4-10) with 20 animals. Each animal was inoculated orally with 2,000 infective eggs of the parasite. The animals of the test groups were treated individually with a single oral dose of levamisole hydrochloride at a concentration of 0.075 mg. The drug was administered either 30 minutes prior to the parasite inoculation (G1 animals) or 120 days after the inoculation (G3 animals). The mice in the control groups were not treated with the drug. After the time required for the migration and the encysting of L. minor larvae, all the animals were euthanized and their tissues examined. The data were analyzed using the Student's unpaired t-test and the Levene test. The groups showed no statistically significant difference. Levamisole hydrochloride was ineffective on third-stage larvae of L. minor. These findings explain the massive expulsion of live adult worms, as well as the use of long treatment schemes, owing to the persistence of larvae and eggs in human parasitic lesions.
authors.affiliation: University Center of Anápolis, Brazil, dulcinea@unievangelica.edu.br, josana.peixoto@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dulcinéa Maria Barbosa
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health, Federal University of Goiás, Brazil, alverne.apb@gmail.com, calb.carlos@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Alverne Passos
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Goiás, Brazil, jayrson111@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jayrson Araújo
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health, Federal University of Goiás, Brazil, alverne.apb@gmail.com, calb.carlos@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Carlos Augusto Lopes
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.affiliation: University Center of Anápolis, Brazil, tamaraflavia@hotmail.com, luanagabriellafarmacia@hotmail.com, douglasthomaz@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Tamara Flavia Correa
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Lobo
authors.affiliation: University Center of Anápolis, Brazil, tamaraflavia@hotmail.com, luanagabriellafarmacia@hotmail.com, douglasthomaz@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Luana Gabriella
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: University Center of Anápolis, Brazil, tamaraflavia@hotmail.com, luanagabriellafarmacia@hotmail.com, douglasthomaz@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Douglas Vieira
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Thomaz
authors.affiliation: University Center of Anápolis, Brazil, dulcinea@unievangelica.edu.br, josana.peixoto@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Josana de Castro
authors.initials: Jde C
authors.lastname: Peixoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000969:Antinematodal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017162:Ascaridida / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects*; D017191:Ascaridida Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000469:parasitology; D002415:Cats; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007978:Levamisole / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL
chemical_list: D000969:Antinematodal Agents; D007978:Levamisole