Treatment of experimental sub-acute cryptococcosis in the Wistar rat
Finquelievich, J.L.; Negroni, R.; Bava, A.J.; Iovannitti, C.
Medicina 48(5): 506-510
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0025-7680 PMID: 2855534 Document Number: 326428
Itraconazole and amphotericin B were compared in the treatment of experimental cryptococcosis in 100 Wistar rats inoculated by intracardiac route with 2 x 105 Cryptococcus neoformans cells. Two therapeutic schemes were used: the curative treatment, starting 10 d after the challenging inoculation and lasting for 15 d; and the prophylactic therapy, starting 3 d before inoculation and lasting up to 15 d afterwards. The inoculated animals were divided into 8 groups, 4 belonging to each therapeutic scheme: (1) treated with itraconazole; (2) treated with amphotericin B; (3) control animals receiving polyethylene-glycol and (4) control animals receiving distilled water. Itraconazole was administered by gavage at 16 mg/kg daily and amphotericin B was given intraperitoneally at doses of 6 mg/kg every 48 h. Therapeutical results were evaluated by necropsy, which was performed 1 wk after the end of the treatments and included mircoscopic examination and evaluation of lung and brain cultures. In these conditions, itraconazole reduced the number of pulmonary lesions, but was not able to sterilize brain cultures. Amphotericin B showed a higher efficacy when used as preventative therapy, 70% of brain cultures becoming negative. By contrast, with the curative scheme, no significant difference with control animals was observed.