RESUMEN
Foi testado in vivo a sensibilidade de Giardia muris a quatro drogas comumente usadas no tratamento da giardíase humana. Foram utilizados 7 grupos de animais, com 12 camundongos cada, sendo que o grupo controle recebeu apenas solução salina 0,15M (0,5ml/animal). Os demais grupos receberam em dose única: metronidazole e furazolidone (500mg/kg), tinidazole e secnidazole (200mg/kg). A eficácia das drogas foi avaliada através da contagem de cistos nas fezes e pela ausência de trofozoítos no intestino. O metronidazole foi a droga mais eficaz. Os cortes histológicos mostraram diferenças entre o padrão da mucosa intestinal de animais normais e parasitados. No entanto, não se observou diferença entre o padrão de mucosa de animais infectados tratados e não tratados, o que sugere que estas alterações podem ser causadas pelo parasito e não pelas drogas.
A comparative study about the effectiveness of metronidazole, tinidazole, secnidazole and furazolidone was performed on Giardia muris from mice naturally infected. Groups of 12 animals each was constituted: the control treated with saline; one treated with metronidazole; one treated with furazolidone; one treated with tinidazole; one treated with secnidazole; histological normal control; histological infected. Samples of three stools were examined before and after treatment with quantification of cysts. Animals were cured when the trophozoites was not seen in the small bowel. The curative activity of drugs was 58.3% for metronidazole, 50% for furazolidone, 40% for secnidazole and 16% for tinidazole. It was also showed that there was a different pattern of the intestinal mucosa from the control and infected groups, treated or not, suggesting that the alterations encountered in the mucosa of infected animals were due to the parasitism either the action of the drugs.