The effect of praziquantel on Schistosoma haematobium, S. japonicum and S. mansoni in primates.

: Baboons infected with S. haematobium and vervet monkeys infected with S. japonicum were treated orally with different dosage regimens of 2-cyclohexylcarbonyl-1,2,3,6,7,11b-hexahydro-4H-pyrazino[2,1-a]isoquinolin-4-on e(praziquantel, EMBAY 8440, Biltricide) and were autopsied and perfused 3--4 months after treatment. The results suggest that a single oral dose of 75--100 mg/kg body weight is likely to be effective against S. haematobium in the baboon. Female worms of S. haematobium are apparently more susceptible to the compound than male worms. The classic hepatic shift of adult schistosomes was observed in all the primates, but histopathological studies showed that numerous worms also died in situ, only a few being found in the lungs. The results obtained with praziquantel against S. japonicum in the vervet monkey show that a complete cure was obtained in the animal given 50 mg/kg on five consecutive days. A predominant characteristic in the pathology of the animals given a curative dose of praziquantel was the total resolution of cellular reaction and fibrosis in the tissues containing known numbers of dead residual eggs. In the baboons infected with S. haematobium, the ureters and bladders had recovered their functional integrity and in the vervet monkeys infected with S. japonicum, a similar resolution of pathology in the liver and bowel was apparent.