Clearance of circulating filarial antigen as a measure of the macrofilaricidal activity of diethylcarbamazine in wuchereria bancrofti infection

James S. Mc Carthy; Archie Guinea; Gary J. Weil; Eric A. Ottesen

doi:10.1093/infdis/172.2.521

Clearance of circulating filarial antigen as a measure of the macrofilaricidal activity of diethylcarbamazine in wuchereria bancrofti infection

James S. Mc Carthy, Archie Guinea, Gary J. Weil, Eric A. Ottesen

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6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Small doses of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) clear microfilariae (MF) from the blood of Wuchereria banerofti-infected persons, but the dose and regimen required to kill adult worms is not clearly defined. A prospective study was undertaken to examine the macrofilaricidal effect of DEC and the ability of an assay for circulating filarial antigen (CFA) to define the effect. Twenty-five MF-positive subjects and 7 MF-negative but CFA-positive subjects were treated with DEC and followed for 18 months. Of the 25 MF-positive patients, 24 cleared MF, and 22 of 26 CFA-positive subjects cleared CFA. A significantly greater decrease in antifilarial IgG4 was seen in patients who cleared CFA than in those who did not. The complete clearance of CFA observed after therapy with DEC indicates that assessment of CFA clearance is a useful means for detecting macrofilaricidal effects of antifilarial chemotherapy.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	521-526
Number of pages	6
Journal	Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume	172
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/172.2.521
State	Published - Aug 1995

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title = "Clearance of circulating filarial antigen as a measure of the macrofilaricidal activity of diethylcarbamazine in wuchereria bancrofti infection",

abstract = "Small doses of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) clear microfilariae (MF) from the blood of Wuchereria banerofti-infected persons, but the dose and regimen required to kill adult worms is not clearly defined. A prospective study was undertaken to examine the macrofilaricidal effect of DEC and the ability of an assay for circulating filarial antigen (CFA) to define the effect. Twenty-five MF-positive subjects and 7 MF-negative but CFA-positive subjects were treated with DEC and followed for 18 months. Of the 25 MF-positive patients, 24 cleared MF, and 22 of 26 CFA-positive subjects cleared CFA. A significantly greater decrease in antifilarial IgG4 was seen in patients who cleared CFA than in those who did not. The complete clearance of CFA observed after therapy with DEC indicates that assessment of CFA clearance is a useful means for detecting macrofilaricidal effects of antifilarial chemotherapy.",

author = "{Mc Carthy}, {James S.} and Archie Guinea and Weil, {Gary J.} and Ottesen, {Eric A.}",

note = "Funding Information: Received 5 January 1995; revised 21 March 1995. Presented in part: American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Cincinnati, November 1994 (abstract 97). Informed consent was obtained from all subjects according to protocols approved by the Cook Islands Health Department and the National Institutes of Health. Financial support: UNDPIWorld BanklWHO Special Programme in Research and Training in Tropical Diseases and Macrofil Chemotherapy Project of the Onchocerciasis Control Program. Reprints or correspondence: Dr. James McCarthy, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute ofAllergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.",

year = "1995",

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doi = "10.1093/infdis/172.2.521",

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pages = "521--526",

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AU - Mc Carthy, James S.

AU - Guinea, Archie

AU - Weil, Gary J.

AU - Ottesen, Eric A.

N1 - Funding Information: Received 5 January 1995; revised 21 March 1995. Presented in part: American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Cincinnati, November 1994 (abstract 97). Informed consent was obtained from all subjects according to protocols approved by the Cook Islands Health Department and the National Institutes of Health. Financial support: UNDPIWorld BanklWHO Special Programme in Research and Training in Tropical Diseases and Macrofil Chemotherapy Project of the Onchocerciasis Control Program. Reprints or correspondence: Dr. James McCarthy, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute ofAllergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.

PY - 1995/8

Y1 - 1995/8

N2 - Small doses of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) clear microfilariae (MF) from the blood of Wuchereria banerofti-infected persons, but the dose and regimen required to kill adult worms is not clearly defined. A prospective study was undertaken to examine the macrofilaricidal effect of DEC and the ability of an assay for circulating filarial antigen (CFA) to define the effect. Twenty-five MF-positive subjects and 7 MF-negative but CFA-positive subjects were treated with DEC and followed for 18 months. Of the 25 MF-positive patients, 24 cleared MF, and 22 of 26 CFA-positive subjects cleared CFA. A significantly greater decrease in antifilarial IgG4 was seen in patients who cleared CFA than in those who did not. The complete clearance of CFA observed after therapy with DEC indicates that assessment of CFA clearance is a useful means for detecting macrofilaricidal effects of antifilarial chemotherapy.

AB - Small doses of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) clear microfilariae (MF) from the blood of Wuchereria banerofti-infected persons, but the dose and regimen required to kill adult worms is not clearly defined. A prospective study was undertaken to examine the macrofilaricidal effect of DEC and the ability of an assay for circulating filarial antigen (CFA) to define the effect. Twenty-five MF-positive subjects and 7 MF-negative but CFA-positive subjects were treated with DEC and followed for 18 months. Of the 25 MF-positive patients, 24 cleared MF, and 22 of 26 CFA-positive subjects cleared CFA. A significantly greater decrease in antifilarial IgG4 was seen in patients who cleared CFA than in those who did not. The complete clearance of CFA observed after therapy with DEC indicates that assessment of CFA clearance is a useful means for detecting macrofilaricidal effects of antifilarial chemotherapy.

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Clearance of circulating filarial antigen as a measure of the macrofilaricidal activity of diethylcarbamazine in wuchereria bancrofti infection

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