Helminthic diseases

Frequendy, the treatment of helminthic diseases requites adjunct medication. Allergic reactions are commonly seen as a result of tissue invasion by worms or as a consequence of anthelmintic therapy. Antihistamines and corticosteroids may be necessary adjuncts to therapy. Anemia, indigestion, and secondary bacterial infections can also occur and may requite concomitant therapy with hematopoietic drugs and appropriate antibiotics. 

S. Sharma, Design of New Drugs for Helminth Diseases Lead Optimization in Benzimidazoles , in Advances in Drug Research , Eds. B. Testa, U. A. Meyer, Academic Press, London, 1994, Vol. 25, p. 103- 172. 

Infections with helminth parasites remain extraordinarily prevalent in many developing countries, with >25% of the human population currently infected. Helminth diseases are also... 

TABLE 54.1 Mode of Action of Drugs Employed in Chemotherapy of Helminthic Diseases... 

The Design and biological profile of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, 23, 161 Design of new drugs for helminth diseases Lead optimization in benzimidazoles, 25, 103 Design and therapeutic potential of peptides, 21, 145... 

Walls, K. W. Schantz, P. M. (1986). Immunodiagnosis of parasitic diseases, vol. 1 Helminthic diseases. Academic Press New York. 

These are only a few examples which clearly demonstrate that treatment of helminth diseases in man and domestic animals is not only essential to have a healthier society but also to raise the living standards by boosting socio-economic... 

This is a relatively new enteric helminth disease of human caused by a minute whipworm, CapiUaria philippinensis, which was responsible for severe enteritis with high mortality in the Province of Ilocos Norte on the north west coast of Luzon of Philippines in 1967. Later the infection was reported from other adjacent provinces and from southern Thailand [27]. 

Schistosomiasis is a major helminth disease of man caused by the invasion of the blood circulatory system by four species of blood flukes, viz. Schistosoma haematobium, S. mansoni, S. japonicum and S. intercalatum. The adult worms of human schistosomes have separate sexes but they are dioecious (existing together as males and females). The male worm has a groove (gynecophoral canal) along its ventral side in which it carries the female worm during most of its life span. 

The tapeworm infection is a widespread helminth disease which has attracted the attention of native practitioners and physicians. The first so called "effective" herbal preparation for eradicating tapeworms from humans became available in 1775 known as "Madame Nauffer s Tapeworm Cure" [1]. The active ingredient of this remedy was male fern. Since then the extract of the rhizome of male fern (Dryop-terisfilix mas), called aspidium oleoresin, has been used as a folk remedy and also as a drug in clinical medicine to treat tapeworm infections in humans. 

Although a number of natural products have enjoyed wide usage in the treatment of various helminth diseases of man and domestic animals prior to 1960, with the advent of more effective and safer synthetic anthelmintics most of them were eventually abandoned and are now of historical value only [52]. For example, santonin was included in 25th edition of the United States Dispensary (1955), but was removed from the U.S. Medical Compendium of National Formulary (1960). Similarly, aspidium oleoresin was included in the U.S. Pharmacopeia of 1960 and the full clinical usage of this drug was available in the U.S. Dispensary only until 1973 [1]. This makes the description of SAR and synthesis of most of the anthelmintic natural products less meaningful and is, therefore, not discussed in the present text. However, the SAR profile of avermectins and milbemycins is discussed, of which the former have in recent years been used extensively in the treatment of onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis in humans [20]. 

Some members of this class have emerged as effective drugs for the treatment of helminth diseases in humans [22,42,43,57,58]. 

The detailed therapeutic profile of drugs discussed in this chapter and used to treat helminth diseases of domestic animals have been extensively reviewed [12,23,25,26,33,35,69-72]. The present discussion is confined to some of the more commonly used of these drugs. 

II. Helminthic diseases Causative organism(s) Geography Prevalence3 (millions)... 

Antiprotozoal Agents - The chemotherapy of protozoan diseases was comprehensively reviewed. The Abstracts of the Ninth International Congress on Tropical Medicine and Malaria contain many articles on protozoan and helminthic diseases. Many aspects of parasite biochemistry and drug action were presented at a recent meeting and have been published.3... 

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