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Dreyer, G. & Norões, J.

DIETHYLCARBAMAZINE IN THE TREATMENT OF BANCROFTIAN FILARIASIS.

Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical, 30(3):229-240, 1997.

SUMMARY

The authors presented a detailed review about the tratment of bancr oftian filariasis with
diethylcarbamazine. The interesting aspects about the drug discovery and the basic concepts about its pharmacology were reported in a summarised form. On the other hand, emphasis was made about the speculation done by several authors about the intringuing findings regarding its efficacy reported in the literature. Latter, it was brought the new advances about the disease, as for example, the visualization by ultrasound of living Wuchereria bancrofti adult worm on its natural host — the human being. This made possible the comprehension of several paradoxical issues reported, focusing the treatment of infection using diethylcarbamazine. So far, because of the lack of ideal drug with micro and macrofilaricidal properties, together with the new understand about the disease and the new parameters for monitoring the efficacy of the drug, diethylcarbamazine has back its importance conquered at the begin of its discovery, almost fifth years ago.