[On the effect of mebendazole on metacestodes of Mesocestoides corti and Echinococcus multilocularis (author's transl)].

Mebendazole (5-benzoyl-2-methoxycarbonylaminobenzimidazole) was highly effective against tetrathydridia of Mesocestoides corti in the peritoneal cavity, liver and in the subcutis of mice when administered orally in the food (450 or 465 ppm) from days 7 or 40/50 post infectionem (p.i.) for 10 or 20 days in total doses of approximately 660-1660 mg/kg body weight (b.w.). All tetrathyridia were killed when treatment began at day 7 p.i., and only some survived when medication was started on days 40/50 p.i. A treatment of 5 days was only partially effective. In experiments with Echinococcus multilocularis laboratory animals were intraperitoneally infected with metacestode tissue transplants. Beginning on days 4-7 p.i. or on day 40 p.i. the animals were treated for 5, 10 or 20/21 days with mebendazole medicated food. In mice a treatment for 10 or 20/21 days with total mebendazole doses of approximately 660-2180 mg/kg b.w. caused an average reduction on metacestode weight of 61-89%. An average reduction between 58 and 84% was achieved in Meriones after a treatment for 20/21 days with total doses of approximately 650/530 mg/kg b.w. However, histological examinations and transplantation experiments revealed that in most of the treated animals metacestode tissue survived and retained its capability for budding. On the other hand, indications for a partial destruction of the parasite tissue were found in some of the treated animals. The oral mebendazole treatment was well tolerated. After intraperitoneal injection of 3 X 150 mg/kg b.w. mebendazole - as applied by Campbell et al. (1975) - all of 36 mice or Meriones died.