Duke B O, Zea-Flores G, Castro J, Cupp E W, Muñoz B
American Registry of Pathology, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for the Histopathology of Filarial Diseases in Man, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1990 Dec;43(6):657-64. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1990.43.657.
This paper assesses the effects on adult Onchocerca volvulus of monthly doses of ivermectin (150 micrograms/kg) given over 4, 8, and 12 months to patients in Guatemala. Nodules were removed 4 months after the last dose; the adult O. volvulus were extracted by collagenase digestion, studied by histological techniques, and compared with worms from untreated patients. Twelve monthly doses killed a proportion of the adult worms (12% of males and 22% of females), leaving the remainder relatively unaffected and the females slowly resuming embryogenesis. After 8 and 12 doses, a number of female worms had resumed embryogenesis in 1 genital tract only, and in 1 female a total degeneration of 1 ovary was seen. Ivermectin also led to a marked drop in the number of male worms in nodules. No serious adverse reactions occurred and the treatment was well accepted.
