Skip Navigation


JAC Advance Access originally published online on January 12, 2006
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2006 57(3):482-488; doi:10.1093/jac/dki484
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
57/3/482    most recent
dki484v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Palomares, F.
Right arrow Articles by Jung-Cook, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Palomares, F.
Right arrow Articles by Jung-Cook, H.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Evaluation of the efficacy of albendazole sulphoxide and praziquantel in combination on Taenia crassiceps cysts: in vitro studies

Francisca Palomares1, Guadalupe Palencia2, Javier R. Ambrosio3, Alma Ortiz2 and Helgi Jung-Cook1,4,*

1 Laboratorio de Neuropsicofarmacología, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía 14269, México D.F., México; 2 Laboratorio de Neuroinmunología, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía 14269, México D.F., México; 3 Facultad de Medicina, UNAM, Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, México D.F., México; 4 Facultad de Química, UNAM, México D.F., México

Received 22 October 2004; returned 23 June 2005; revised 28 November 2005; accepted 2 December 2005

* Corresponding author. Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Insurgentes Sur 3877, Col. La Fama, Tlalpan 14269, México City, México. Tel/Fax: (52) 54-24 08 08; E-mail: helgi{at}servidor.unam.mx

Objectives: Praziquantel and albendazole are currently used for chemotherapeutic treatment of neurocysticercosis. Albendazole has been found to be more effective than praziquantel; however, it is well known that not all patients will show a complete resolution of cysts. Searching for more effective treatments, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of the combination of praziquantel and albendazole sulphoxide in a Taenia crassiceps in vitro model as well as the kind of interaction between both drugs.

Methods: In order to determine the concentration that produced 50% effect (EC50), T. crassiceps cysts were incubated in culture medium containing praziquantel (0.005–0.04 µg/mL), albendazole sulphoxide (0.021–0.16 µg/mL) or the combination of praziquantel and albendazole sulphoxide in a fixed-dose ratio (1 : 1). The experimental concentration (EC50Exp) of the combination was determined from the concentration-response curve constructed from the combined drug treatment. Isobolographic analyses were used to define the nature of the interaction between praziquantel and albendazole sulphoxide. Morphological and ultrastuctural alterations after different treatments over the parasite tissue were observed by light and transmission electron microscopy.

Results: The changes in ultrastructure were more marked with the praziquantel and albendazole sulphoxide combination. Also the cysticidal effect of the combination was observed earlier than that of each drug alone. When isobolographic analysis was employed, we found that the experimental EC50 value (0.042 µg/mL) was not significantly different from the theoretical EC50 value (0.035 µg/mL), which indicates an additive interaction between praziquantel and albendazole sulphoxide.

Conclusions: Our study suggests that the combination of praziquantel and albendazole sulphoxide could potentially improve the current neurocysticercosis treatment.

Keywords: neurocysticercosis , T. crassiceps , drug–drug interactions


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.