Twenty adult patients presenting dermal cysticercosis without cerebral or ocular involvement were treated with praziquantel. The first eleven cases received 60 mg/kg/day and the last nine cases 30 mg/kg/day. In both groups the daily dose was split into three oral intakes 4 to 6 hours apart and the drug administration lasted for 6 consecutive days. The latter group of patients also got dexamethasone, 3 mg daily, from one day before until four days after the treatment period with praziquantel. The drug proved to be 100% efficacious as demonstrated histopathologically by the death of the cysticerci of Taenia solium (Cysticercus cellulosae) in serial biopsies taken from the 2nd week on after the end of treatment, as well as clinically by the steady disappearence of the dermal nodules during the 6 months following the therapy. Tolerance of praziquantel was good as the incidence and severity of side-effects were not relevant. The drug safety was confirmed through laboratory tests which failed to detect any abnormal findings related to the hematopoietic, liver and kidney functions.

Estuda-se a atividade anti-helmíntica de um novo medicamento, o Albendazole, nas nematodíases causadas por Ascaris lumbricoides, Necator americanos e Trichuris trichiura, comparativamente com Mebendazole. Foram tratados 89 pacientes, sendo 48 pelo Albendazole e 41 pelo Mebendazole. Empregou-se o Aivendazole, por via orall, em dose única, de 400 mg, e o Mebendazole em duas tomadi diárias de 100 mg, durante três dias consecutivos, independentemente do peso e da idade dos pacientes. A tolerância a ambos medicamentos foi excelente, sendo nulas as reações colaterais. A análise estatística dos resuiados obtidos não revelou diferença na eficácia terapêutica dos dois medicamentos. Nos casos nâo curados, do ponto de vista parasitológico, a redução do número de ovos foi significativa com ambos os medicamentos utilizados. A inegável vantagem apresentada pelo Albendazole é a possibilidade de sua administração em dose única.

The authors undertake a comparative study with two broad-spectrum anthelmintics, benzimidazole derivatives - Albendazole and Mebendazole in the treatment of Ascaris lumbricoides, Necator americanus and Trichuris trichiura infections. The subjects of the trial were eighty-nine patients, forty-eight of them treated with Albendazole and forty-one with Mebendazole. Mebendazole was given orally, 100 mg. twice daily, for three consecutive days, and Albendazole in a single oral dose of 400 mg. Tolerance was uniformly excelent and no side-effects were reported. Statistical analysis of the performed study showed that Albendazole is asefficaciousas Mebendazole in the treatment of Ascaris lumbricoides, Necator americanus and Trichuris trichiura infections. The advantage of Albendazole is the single oral dosage. In patients not cured parasitologically, significant reduction of number of eggs per gram of stool was observed with both drugs.

Estudou-se a eficácia terapêutica do tinidazol, um novo derivado nitroimidazólico, em trinta pacientes com giardiase. A posologia diária foi de 300 mg em 20 pacientes com idade superior a 10 anos, e de 150 mg em 10 crianças com idade inferior a 10 anos. O tratamento teve a duração de cinco dias. O diagnóstico e os controles de cura parasitológicos foram feitos pelos métodos de Hoffman, Pons & Janer e de Faust e cols. Foram realizados três controles, com intervalos de sete dias, iniciando-se na semana subsequente ao término do tratamento. Obtiveram cura parasitológica em 96,6% dos casos. Ressaltam a excelente tolerância da droga, mesmo em pacientes com grave doença fundamental ou em crianças, não se registrando efeitos colaterais. Concluem ser o tinidazol excelente droga giardicida.

The Autors study the therapeutic efficacy of Tinidazole, a new nitrimidazole derivative, in the treatment of thirty patients with giardiasis. They employed the daily dosage of 300 mg for twenty patients and 150 mg for ten children, respectively with ten years of age or and less during five consecutive days. The diagnosis and the parasitological evaluation of the results of treatment were accomplished by stool examinations using zinc sulphate centrifugal-flotation technique of Faust et al. and sedimentatian-concentration technique of Hoffman, Pons and Janer. The control started one week after the treatment and consisted of three stool examinations, at one week intervals. The Authors achieved 96.6 per cent of parasitological cures. They stressed the excellent tolerance of the drug ,even by patients with serious fundamental diseases or by children. No side effects were registered. They conclude that Tinidazole is an excellent drug against Giardia lamblia infections.

Foi empregue o niridazol um derivado do nitrotiazol, em doze pacientes com leishmaniose tegumentar americana. Em todos êles, o diagnóstico clínico da doença foi confirmado pela biópsia das lesões e em oito dêles também pela positividade da intradetermorreação de Montenegro. Oito pacientes tinham lesões mucosas metastáticas em atividade e lesões cutâneas iniciais cicatrizadas há tempo mais ou menos longo. Dois apresentavam concomitância de lesões cutâneas e mucosas em atividade, e dois tinham lesões cutâneas exclusivas. A duração da doença variou de 2 meses a 32 anos. A posologia diária do niridazol foi uniformememente de 25 mg/kg de pêso corpóreo. O medicamento foi administrado por via oral, em duas tomadas diárias, sempre com o doente internado em hospital. Quando a tolerância o permitia, o paciente recebia cinco séries de tratamento de 10 dias de duração cada, intercaladas por períodos áe suspensão da droga de 10 dias entre uma série e outra. Isso foi possível em 10 dos 12 pacientes. O tratamento foi bem tolerado em 5 doentes e de tolerância regular em 4. Mal tolerado em um paciente pela ocorrência de alucinações e excitação mental e interrompido pela péssima tolerância em dois doentes devido ao aparecimento de convulsões generalizadas com perda da consciência. O tratamento acompanhou-se de grande incidência, de efeitos colaterais. A ocorrência de para-efeitos mais intensos não foi devida às más condições hepáticas. Provas de função hepática. hemogramas, estudos bioquímicos do sangue e exames de urina, realizados antes, durante e após o tratamento, não revelaram alterações significativas. Biópsias hepáticas por punção com agulha em dez doentes, prévias e posteriores ao tratamento, não detectaram lesões hepáticas que pudessem ser atribuídas à medicação. O seguimento dos doentes prolongou-se pelo prazo de dois a 36 meses apos o tratamento. Alterações eletrocardiográficas foram detectadas em sete de oito doentes que não tinham cardiopatias concomitantes (87,5% dos casos), mas não se acompanharam de clínica relacionada com o aparelho cardiovascular. Alterações eletroencefalográficas foram observadas em 3 de 9 doentes que foram submetidos a exames seriados. O autor ficou decepcionado com os maus resultados terapêuticos. A droga curou as lesões cutâneas de dois dentre três doentes nos quais puderam ser completadas as cinco séries de tratamento. A temporária e aparente melhora das lesões mucosas seguiu-se sempre da sua recidiva, após o término do tratamento em todos os pacientes com lesões mucosas. O autor conclui que o niridazol não é medicamento eficaz na terapêutica da leishmaniose tegumentar americana com lesões mucosas metastáticas tardias localizadas no nariz, boca e/ou faringe. O autor aconselha vigilância dos doentes durante o tratamento devido à possibilidade do aparecimento de manifestações neuropsíquicas.

Niridazole, a nitrothiazole derivative, was tried in twelve patients with American cutaneous leishmaniasis. In all the patients the clinical diagnosis of the disease was confirmed by biopsy of the lesions and in eight also by a Montenegro's positive skin test. Eight patients had active metastatic mucosal lesions and initial skin lesions healed by a period of time more or less prolonged. Two had concomitant cutaneous and mucosal lesions in activity and two active cutaneous lesions only. The duration of the disease varied from two months to thirty tico years. The daily dosage of niridazole was uniformly 25 mg/kg of body weight administered by oral reate, in two daily parcelated doses. The patients were always hospitalized and when postible, by tolerance of the drug, received five courses of treatment of a ten days duration each. intervaled by the supression of the drug by ten days after each course of treatment. This was possible in ten from twelve patients. The treatment was well tolerated by five patients and regulary by four and badly tolerated in one patient due to appearance of hallucitations and mental excitement. The treatment was interrupted in two patients by the occurrence of convulsive seizure with loss of consciousness. The treatment ivas acc.om - panied by high incidence of side-effects. The anthor could not relate the more intense side-effects to bad hepatic functions. Liver function tests, blood cells and biochernical blood studies and urinalysis were carried out in all patients before, during and after treatment and, showed no signifficant changes. Needle biopsy of the liver failed to demonstrate evidence of hepatic damage in all ten patients submitted to the study. The follow-up period, of this therapeutic study were prolonged from two to 36 months after the end of the treatment. Eletrocardiographic drug-related changes were observed in seven out of eight patients (87,5%) without associated cardiologic disease and were not accompanied by cardiologic clinical manifestations. Eletroencephalographic drug-related changes were observed in three from nine patients in which the examination was performed. Poor therapeutic results in the vatients with ulcerative mucosal lesions, were observed as the drug experimented did not heale the mucosal lesions and only healed the cutaneous lesions in two of three patients who completed five treatment courses. Temporary and incomplete healing of the mucosal lesions was followed by relapse of them, after the end of therapy in all the patients with mucosal lesions. The author concluded that niridazole is not an effective drug in American cutaneous leishmaniasis with advanced metastatic lesions in mucous membranes of nose, mouth and/or pharynx. The author recommends vigilant observation of the patients during treatment due to possible appearance of neuro-psyehical symptoms.