The Development of New Treatment Options for Echinococcosis Publisher



Mohammadnejad F¹ ; Ghaffarifar F¹ ; Dalimi A¹ ; Hassan ZM² Show Affiliations
Source: Reviews and Research in Medical Microbiology Published:2015

Abstract

Cystic echinococcosis and alveolar echinococcosis occur widely throughout the world and cause major public health and economic problems; it constitutes an emerging and re-emerging disease. Treatment of echinococcosis still poses a substantial therapeutic challenge. Currently available medications are limited in terms of efficacy; so that 40% of cases of hydatidosis do not respond favorably to the benzimidazoles as the first line of chemotherapy. We have assessed the present state of anthelminthic treatment, the critical factors actually or potentially contributing to the treatment outcome and cover all drug studies done between 1961 and 2015. Artemisinin is widely used to treat cancers. Because of the similarity between echinococcosis metacestodes and cancer cells in terms of their unlimited growth, proliferation, we anticipate that based on current studies, artemisinin and its semisynthetic derivatives can lead to the development of a successful drug against hydatidosis. Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.