[Chemotherapeutic studies on litomosoides carinii infection of mastomys natalensis. 5. Alterations of haematological parameters after the administration of filaricidal compounds (author's transl)].

The peripheral blood picture of multimammate rats (Mastomys natalensis) infected with Litomosoides carinii was studied. Changes were followed in patent infections from 64 to 176 days after infection in animals treated with diethylcarbamazine (5 x 100 mg/kg per os), HOE 258 V (5 X 10 mg/kg subcutaneously), suramin (5 x 40 mg/kg subcutaneously) and with a combined treatment of diethylcarbamazine and suramin. In addition, haematological changes were followed in non-infected animals treated with suramin alone as well as in non-infected and infected animals receiving no treatment. During the course of non-treated L. carinii infection in Mastomys natalensis, animals developed anaemia, an increased sedimentation rate and a leucopenia. In addition there was a relative increase in circulating eosinophils, in large lymphocytes and monocytes and a relative decrease in small lymphocytes. After treatment with the microfilaricidal drugs diethylcarbamazine and HOE 258 V blood changes followed those of infection controls but there was a transient change towards normal in peripheral blood values when the microfilariaemia was reduced by the drugs. After treatment with the macrofilaricide suramin, nearly normal values were reached at the end of the experiment for the red blood cell and leucocytes levels. Combined treatment with suramin and diethylcarbamazine resulted in relatively normal levels for some parameters. Suramin was shown to cause haematological changes in normal animals which became evident several days before use of the drug. Such changes added to the pathological alterations caused by the filarial infection. In both infected and non-infected animals suramin treatment resulted in oedema around the nose and on the front feet approximately three weeks afterwards.