Treatment of chronic experimental Trypanosoma cruzi infections in mice with MK-436, a 2-substituted 5-nitroimidazole

ABSTRACT

The antiprotozoal drug 3-(1-methyl-5-nitroimidazol-2-yl)3a, 4,5,6,7,7a-hexahydro-1,2-benzisoxazole (MK-436) is highly efficacious for treating mice chronically infected with different strains of Trypanosoma cruzi. The compound was administered by gavage in two daily doses of 250 mg per kg body weight to 130 mice that had been infected for 90 to 400 days with either type II or III strains of T. cruzi. The following parasitological cure tests were carried out xenodiagnosis, haemoculture, and inoculation of blood into newborn mice. Indirect immunofluorescence tests and histopathological studies were also performed