[Study of the therapeutic activity of nocodazole on experimental models of larval alveococcosis]

The therapeutic activity of parenteral nocodazole was studied on four larval alveococcosis models: golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus campbelli Thomas), albino rats (Rattus rattus albus), and cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) at the late stage of E. multilocularis invasion. The agent (aqueous suspension) was intraperitoneally, intramuscularly, and subcutaneously injected in daily doses of 0.125-0.5 g/kg as 1-8 injections. Mebendazole was the drug of comparison. In the golden hamsters, one intraperitoneal nocodazole injection in daily doses of 0.25 and 0.5 g/kg caused death of all alveococcosis larvocysts whereas mebendazole 0.5 g/kg proved to be ineffective. In the Djungarian hamsters, one intraperitoneal nocodazole injection in a dose of 0.25 g/kg was fatal to alveococcosis larvocysts in 3 (75%) of the 4 animals. In the albino rats, nocodazole once administered intraperitoneally in a dose of 0.125 g/kg caused no death of all parasitic larvocysts, but inhibited their growth by 94.4%. The found alveococcus larvocysts were dead in all the cotton rats receiving nocodazole intramuscularly and subcutaneously 8 times in daily doses of 0.125 and 0.2 g/kg, respectively. Larvocystic death induced by nocodazole in animals with intensive invasion was accompanied by the high rate of collapse in larvocysts.