Table of Contents
- 1 How does diethylcarbamazine treat lymphatic filariasis?
- 2 What is the drug of choice for lymphatic filariasis?
- 3 What are the symptoms of filarial worms?
- 4 Is filariasis completely curable?
- 5 How is diethylcarbamazine used in the treatment of cancer?
- 6 How often should you take diethylcarbamazine for microfilaremia?
How does diethylcarbamazine treat lymphatic filariasis?
Diethylcarbamazine (DEC) is the drug of choice in the United States. The drug kills the microfilariae and some of the adult worms. DEC has been used world-wide for more than 50 years.
What is the drug of choice for lymphatic filariasis?
Diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC), which is both microfilaricidal and active against the adult worm, is the drug of choice for lymphatic filariasis.
What is diethylcarbamazine used for?
Diethylcarbamazine is used in the treatment of certain worm infections. This medicine works by killing the worms.
What antibiotic treats filariasis?
Doxycycline is a broad-spectrum, synthetically derived, bacteriostatic antibiotic in the tetracycline class. In filariasis, it is primarily used to target Wolbachia, an endosymbiotic bacterium in onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis.
What are the symptoms of filarial worms?
Symptoms may include itchy skin (pruritis), abdominal pain, chest pain, muscle pain (myalgias), and/or areas of swelling under the skin. Other symptoms may include an abnormally enlarged liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly), and inflammation in the affected organs.
Is filariasis completely curable?
Since there is no known vaccine or cure for lymphatic filariasis, the most effective method that exists to control the disease is prevention.
How can I get diethylcarbamazine?
Diethylcarbamazine is available only with your doctor’s prescription, and only from the manufacturer.
When should I take diethylcarbamazine?
Diethylcarbamazine should be taken immediately after meals. To help clear up your infection completely, keep taking this medicine for the full time of treatment, even if your symptoms begin to clear up after a few days.
How is diethylcarbamazine used in the treatment of cancer?
Diethylcarbamazine is a key component of mass chemotherapy approaches for the eradication of lymphatic filariasis. 68 It has been used as a sole agent for single-dose therapy, administered long term as diethylcarbamazine-fortified dietary salt, and as a component of combination single-dose regimens with ivermectin or albendazole.
How often should you take diethylcarbamazine for microfilaremia?
Diethylcarbamazine at a dose of 8 to 10 mg/kg/day for 21 days should be given to persons who do not have microfilaremia. Repeated treatment courses with diethylcarbamazine may be necessary in 40% to 50% of patients.
Is it safe to take diethylcarbamazine or albendazole?
The pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of co-administered diethylcarbamazine and albendazole have been investigated in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 42 subjects (aged 18–52 years, weighing 46–67 kg) living in a lymphatic filariasis endemic region but without detectable microfilariae [ 1 ].
Which is the best diethylcarbamazine for cats and dogs?
Diethylcarbamazine has been found to be active against adult ascarids in cats and dogs. However a combination of DEC (3 mg/kg) and styrylpyridinium chloride (5 mg/kg) gave protection against hookworms, ascarids and heartworms in dogs.