Vermox
Effect of mebendazole therapy during pregnancy on birth outcome.

de Silva NR, Sirisena JL, Gunasekera DP, Ismail MM, de Silva HJ.

Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. nrdes mail.lanka.net

BACKGROUND: In areas endemic for hookworm, routine antenatal mebendazole therapy could greatly reduce the prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy. At present, however, this is not a widely accepted control strategy because of a lack of data on the safety of the drug. We assessed the effect of mebendazole therapy during pregnancy on birth outcome. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done in Sri Lanka, where prescription of mebendazole to women in the second trimester of pregnancy is recommended. Two hospitals were chosen for the study, and women who gave birth there between May, 1996, and March, 1997, were recruited. We compared the rates of major congenital defects, stillbirth, perinatal death, and low birthweight (< or = 1500 g) among babies of mothers who had taken mebendazole during pregnancy with those whose mothers had not taken an anthelmintic (controls). FINDINGS: The rate of major congenital defects was not significantly higher in the mebendazole group than in the control group (97 [1.8%] of 5275 vs 26 [1.5%] of 1737; odds ratio 1.24 [95% CI 0.8-1.91], p=0.39). Among 407 women who had taken mebendazole in the first trimester (contrary to medical advice), 10 (2.5%) had major congenital defects (odds ratio vs controls 1.66 [0.81-3.56], p=0.23). The proportions of stillbirths and perinatal deaths were significantly lower in the mebendazole group (1.9 vs 3.3%, 0.55 [95% CI 0.4-0.77]), as was the proportion of low-birthweight babies (1.1 vs 2.3%, 0.47 [95% CI 0.32-0.71]). INTERPRETATION: Mebendazole therapy during pregnancy is not associated with a significant increase in major congenital defects, but our results indicate that it should be avoided during the first trimester. This therapy could offer beneficial effects to pregnant women in developing countries, where intestinal helminthiases are endemic.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10209979&dopt=Abstract mebendazole Vermox



Vermox
The effects of mebendazole and fenbendazole on Trichinella spiralis in mice.

Fernando SS, Deham DA.

Oral administration of either Mebendazole or Fenbendazole at 50 mg/kg body weight was effective in killing a 7-hr Trichinella spiralis infection in mice. Adult worms, 72 hr postingection, were unaffected by the same dose of Fenbendazole, while Mebendazole showed partial activity. Both Mebendazole and Fenbendazole were active against developing muscle larvae. Mebendazole was effective against encysted muscle larvae while 50 mg of Fenbendazole per kg per day for 7 days from 28 days postinfection failed to have any effect on this stage of the life-cycle.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1003277&dopt=Abstract mebendazole Vermox



Vermox
Mebendazole and pyrantel pamoate as broad-spectrum anthelmintics.

Islam N, Chowdhury NA.

The efficacy of mebendazole and pyrantel pamoate was studied in two groups of 59 and 58 cases, respectively, of patients with polyparasitosis. Mebendazole had a cure rate of 96%, 82.2%, 71.4% and 66.6% in A. lumbricoides, hookworm, T. trichiura and S. stercoralis, respectively, while the corresponding figures for pyrantel pamoate were 92.6%, 85.7%, 19.4% and 0%. Pyrantel pamoate is considered to have no significant effect on T. trichiura and S. stercoralis. None of the drugs had any effect on T. saginata. Both drugs have been found to be equally effective against enterobiasis by various authors. It is recommended that pyrantel pamoate be the drug of choice in cases of multiple parasitic infections excluding T. trichiura and S. stercoralis whereas those with one or both of these in addition to others should be treated with mebendazole. Mebendazole can be prescribed for patients with clinical evidence of helminthic infections even where stool examination is not possible as it covers almost the whole range of common helminthic infections. The only limitation for poorer patients however is its cost. Pyrantel pamoate has a wider applicability for the poorer patients in spite of the fact that it is ineffective against trichurids and S. stercoralis.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1027113&dopt=Abstract mebendazole Vermox



Vermox
Treatment of trichuriasis with a new drug, mebendazole.

Maqbool S, Lawrence D, Katz M.

Effectiveness of mebendazole, a new anthelminthic drug recommended for treatment of Trichuris trichiura infection, was evaluated in 50 children attending a pediatric outpatient clinic in New York City. Mebendazole, 100 mg. administered orally twice daily for three days resulted in an apparent cure of 48 children. Posttreatment stools of the remaining two children had a substantial reduction in the number of eggs. A second course of treatment, identical to the first, led to the elimination of eggs in the stool specimens of these two children. Mebendazole appears to be an effective drug against Trichuris trichiura.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1113237&dopt=Abstract mebendazole Vermox



Vermox
[Effects of Mebendazole and Cambendazole on enterohelminths in pigs]

[Article in Czech]

Chroustova E, Starovesky E.

Mebendazole, administered at a dose of 30 mg active substance per 1 kg of feed, was found to have 100% effectiveness on Ascaris suum and Cambendazole, administered at a dose of 1.5 g per 1 kg of liver weight, showed the same effectiveness in the control of Ascaris suum and Oesophagostomum dentatum. The effectiveness of both drugs on Trichocephalus suis and Strongyloides ransomi was low. Mebendazole and Cambendazole can be recommended for mass dehelminthization of pigs in affected stocks. Helminthoovoscopical examination of sows and fattened pigs showed an 88.6% extensity of invasion in sows, and a 28.3% and 33.9% extensity in three- and five-month-old pigs, respectively. Coccidiosis was found in 51.4% of the sows and Balantidium coli had an occurrence rate of 80.7 to 98.2%.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=111399&dopt=Abstract mebendazole Vermox



Vermox
Ultrastructural changes in Ascaris suum intestine after mebendazole treatment in vivo.

Borgers M, De Nollin S.

The effect of in vivo treatment with mebendazole on the ultrastructural morphology of Ascaris suum intestine was investigated. Pigs, infected with A. suum, were fed ad libitum a medicated food containing mebendazole at a concentration of 30 ppm. Control and treated animals were killed 6, 9, 15, and 24 hr after the onset of feeding. The parasites were quickly collected from the pig intestinal tract and prepared for ultrastructural and cytochemical examination. Absence of secretory granules in the terminal web, accumulation of secretory granules in the Golgi region, formation of autophagic vacuoles in the apical cell part, and loss of glycogen were the characteristic changes observed after 6 and 9 hr of treatment. Degenerative changes were very pronounced after 15 and 24 hr and involved almost the entire cytoplasm. Microvilli were decreased in number and appeared swollen in the majority of absorptive cells. Some more severely altered cells were completely devoid of microvilli. Cytochemistry revealed that the accumulated secretory granules in the Golgi area contained glycoproteins or polysaccharides. Microvilli, lysosomes, and Golgi apparatus were reactive for acid phosphatase in the control intestinal cells. After treatment, the enzyme activity was localized in numerous autophagic vacuoles, whereas the secretory granules remained unstained. The acid phosphatase activity in the microvilli decreased or was completely absent. The possible significance of these modifications in view of mebendazole's anthelmintic activity is discussed.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1117352&dopt=Abstract mebendazole Vermox