Effect of diethylcarbamazine on adult Loa in monkeys.

The effect of diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) treatment (43-150 mg kg-1 daily for 12-21 days) on adult Loa worms in five drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus) is described. In individual monkeys, between one-third and all of the adult worms survived the treatment, and most of the surviving females were still producing live microfilariae. These experiments provide direct evidence which may explain the common clinical experience that single courses of DEC do not always succeed in eliminating the signs and symptoms of loiasis in humans. Further work on the chemotherapy of loiasis in monkeys, using DEC and other filaricides, might improve the treatment of this disease.