Experimental studies on early treatment of schistosomal infection with artemether.

An early treatment with artemether given in appropriate regimens was tested in mice, rabbits and dogs for prevention purposes. Artemether was administered intragastrically (ig) to the hosts on day 7 after infection with Schistosoma japonicum cercariae at a single dose, and the same dose of artemether was repeated every 1 or 2 weeks for 2-4 times. As a result, most of the female worms were killed before their oviposition with female worm reduction rates of 90-100%, resulting in protection of the host from damage induced by schistosome eggs. When rabbits were treated ig with artemether 10 mg kg-1 on day 7 after infection, followed by repeated dosing every week for 4 times, some parameters related to acute schistosomiasis, such as temperature, eosinophil count and eggs in the feces were negative, and low specific antigen and antibody levels in serum were seen. Further study showed that the appropriate regimens of Artemether were also effective in early treatment of reinfection with cercariae. When rabbits infected with 48-52 cercariae once every other day for 5 times were treated ig with artemether 15 mg kg-1, followed by repeated dosing every 1 or 2 week for 2- 3 times, the female worm reduction rates were 92.1-98.4%. Histopathological examination of the livers showed that the above-mentioned early treatment with Artemether exhibited a promising protective effect on dogs and rabbits. The major features included normal appearance of the liver resembling those of uninfected dogs and rabbits; few or no dispersed miliary egg tubercles appeared on the surface of the liver; the structure of the hepatic lobules was normal with normal arrangement of the liver bundles; few or no eggs appeared in the portal vein area and there was apparent diminution of total egg granuloma, comprising inflammatory, fibrous or scarred egg granuloma. On the basis of above-mentioned results, early treatment with Artemether could be recommended for field trial for controlling acute schistosomiasis, reducing infection rate and intensity of infection.