Effects of Praziquantel Treatment on the Levels of Total Bile Acids and the Basement Membrane Formation in Schistosomiasis: Correlations with the Severity of the Disease | ||
| Bulletin of Egyptian Society for Physiological Sciences | ||
| Article 7, Volume 29, Issue 2, December 2009, Pages 95-108 PDF (203.38 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/besps.2009.36355 | ||
| Authors | ||
| El-Shahat Tosona* 1; Kadry Gad2 | ||
| 1Chemistry Dep. (Biochemistry Division), Faculty of Science (Damietta) | ||
| 2Emergency Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt | ||
| Abstract | ||
| The pathological effects of schistosomiasis are due to immune responses of the host to the eggs of the parasite leading to intestinal and hepatic granulomatous disease and hepatic fibrosis. Therefore, biochemical serum analyses concomitant with haematological, microscopical, ultrasonographical and clinical examinations were performed on 45 Schistosoma infested patients and on 15 matched healthy controls. According to the development of the liver damage, as was reflected by Child Pugh’s score, the patients were classified into 3 groups, containing 15 patients’ each. The patients of group I were suffering from simple intestinal bilharzial infestation and those of the group II and group III were bilharzially infested patients with Child A and Child B, respectively. The patients were treated with triple doses of praziquantel (PZQ) and the levels of total bile acids, laminin P1 (LP1), liver function tests (LFTs) and blood picture were evaluated before and after 6 months of the treatment. Also, the presence of schistosomal antibodies, its ova in stool or positivity of rectal snip for such ova, before treatment, were used as diagnostic tools of bilharzial infestation. At the same time, the clinical and ultrasonographical parameters were evaluated and their correlations with the previous parameters were calculated. It was found that, Schistosoma infestation caused damage to the liver with subsequent elevations in the mean values of total bile acids (TBA), the basement membrane component (LP1) and the parameters of LFTs due to presence of periporal fibrosis. After PZQ’s treatment, the levels of the previous parameters were retuned back into levels reaching those of the control group. In conclusion, PZQ treatment can cause spontaneous resolution of liver fibrosis. In addition, the levels of total bile acids and LP1 can reflect the severity of liver damage and the susceptibility to PZQ’s treatment. Moreover, one can not neglect the role of LP1 in the regulation of inflammation in schistosomiasis. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Schistosomiasis; praziquantel; laminin P1 and rectal snip | ||
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