Effect of repeated doses of praziquantel on the liver of premature albino mice

ABSTRACT

Bilharziasis constitutes a national health problem in Egypt. Millions of individuals were infested with bilharziasis. They form continuous source of infection and spread of the disease allover the country. Praziquantel, the antischistosomal drug was given successfully in a single oral dose. Some workers divided the single dose twice or trice. Others repeated the dose using different regimens with encouraging results. In the present work, therapeutic dose of praziquantel was administered for 5 days to postnatal Swiss albino mice aiming to detect the teratogenic, toxic or pathologic effects on their livers. It was observed that praziquantel induced variable degenerative changes in the liver in the form of focal areas of cell necrosis, fatty degeneration with mild inflammatory cell infiltration in the first and the second days after stop of the drug. These degenerative changes were massive 7 days later