Zinc and praziquantel on the pathogenesis of hepatosplenomegaly in experimental mansoniasis

ABSTRACT

Praziquantel treatment of mice two weeks after infection with Schistosoma mansoni did not interfere with maturation of worms, but diminished the pathological effect on the liver. Addition of zinc to the treatment did not change the picture but potentiated the immune response in the form of secondary lymphoid follicles in the spleen. Treatment after five weeks resulted in marked reduction in the number and size of granulomata. Addition of zinc protected the liver cells and potentiated the immune response