Oltipraz treatment in experimental schistosomiasis mansoni: V. Histopathological changes in the livers of infected mice induced by high dose oral therapy.

Histopathological changes in the livers of mice infected with the Egyptian strain of S. mansoni before and after oltipraz therapy were studied. The drug was given in a single oral dose of 500 mg/kg. body weight. The results obtained revealed marked improvement of the pathological lesions after 20 and 30 days from oltipraz therapy in comparison to the infected untreated controls. That improvement was followed by a marked increase of hepatic lesions after 60 days from treatment in addition to new cellular granulomata surrounding fresh bilharzial ova. The drug was severely toxic to the liver as it caused severe liver cell injury, parenchymatous inflammation, fatty changes and areas of diffuse necrosis in livers of the drug control group of mice, the results were discussed in the light of the previous and present findings detected by the authors, with some recommendations.