Abstract
The aim of the study is to explore the effect of mefloquine against Clonorchis sinensis and Paragonimus westermani. For anti-C. sinensis study, a total of 71 rats were divided into four batches for oral infection of each rat with 50 C. sinensis metacercariae. Five to 7 weeks post-infection, groups of rats were treated orally with mefloquine at single doses or multiple daily doses while infected, but untreated rats served as control. All treated rats were euthanized 2 weeks post-treatment for assessment of efficacy. For anti-P. westermani study, two batches of eight and ten dogs were each infected intraperitoneally with 100 P. westermani metacercariae. Eighty-five to 96 days post-infection, groups of two or three dogs were treated orally with mefloquine and groups of two dogs were treated with praziquantel at a single dose or multiple doses. In each batch of test, three untreated but infected dogs served as control. All treated dogs were euthanized 26-30 days post-treatment for evaluation of efficacy. In rats infected with C. sinensis and treated orally with mefloquine at a single dose of 75 and 150 mg/kg, no effect against C. sinensis was observed. When the dose of mefloquine was increased to 250 mg/kg, one third (five out of 15) rats died 3-5 days post-treatment. Although the mean worm burden was lower than that of the control, the difference between the treated and control groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05) with worm burden reduction of 22.4%. Whereas, the group of infected rats received mefloquine at a daily dose of 100 mg/kg for 3 days, one out of five rats died after the last administration. The mean worm burden was significantly lower than that of the control with worm burden reduction of 67.6% (P<0.01). In the first test of mefloquine against P. westermani, three infected dogs received two oral doses of the drug, 50 mg/kg, given at a 4-h interval, the mean worm burden were similar to that of the control. While other two dogs were treated with praziquantel at the same dose schedule, the worm burden reduction of 78% was observed. In the second test, three and two dogs were treated with mefloquine 50 mg/kg daily for 5 days or 100 mg/kg daily for 2 days; the mean worm burdens of the two groups were lower than that of the control with worm burden reduction of 65.6% and 51.9%, respectively. However, only the difference of mean worm burdens between mefloquine 50 mg/kg given daily for 5 days and the control was statistically significant (P<0.05). Other two dogs treated with praziquantel at a single dose of 100 mg/kg were cured. The results indicate that under the appropriate dose schedule mefloquine exhibits less effect against C. sinensis in rats and P. westermani in dogs.
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