Niclosamide Health Dictionary

A parasitic disorder caused by taeniae or tapeworms.

In the case of infestation with Taenia saginata, the host may not have any symptoms and only become aware that he or she is infested upon sight of the tapeworm – or rather, part of it – in the stools (FAECES). In the case of Taenia solium the outlook is more serious because the eggs, when swallowed, are liable to migrate into the tissues of the body (as they do in the pig) and cause hydatid cysts. If these occur in the muscles they may cause little trouble but, if they occur in the brain or liver, they can prove very serious.

Hydatid cysts often grow to a great size, budding o? smaller cysts in their interior. The symptoms produced by a hydatid cyst depend mainly upon the effects of its size and consequent pressure.

Treatment of tapeworm infestation is the administration (on a named-patient basis) of niclosamide or praziquantal. Hydatid disease is treated by surgical removal, sometimes in coordination with albendazole.... taeniasis

This disease rarely occurs except in Central Europe, Ethiopia, South Africa, and part of Asia. It results from ova (eggs) being swallowed or regurgitated into the stomach from an adult pork tapeworm in the intestine. In the stomach the larvae escape from the eggs and are absorbed. They are carried in the blood to various parts of the body, most commonly the subcutaneous tissue and skeletal muscle, where they develop and form cysticerci. When super?cial, they may be felt under the skin as small pea-like bodies. Although they cause no symptoms here, cysts may also develop in the brain. Five years later the larvae die, and the brain-tissue reaction may result in epileptic ?ts, obscure neurological disorders, and personality changes. The cysts calcify at this stage, though to a greater degree in the muscles than the brain, allowing them to be seen radiologically. Epilepsy starting in adult life, in anyone who has previously lived in an endemic area, should suggest the possibility of cysticercosis. (See also TAENIASIS.)

Treatment Most important is prevention of the initial tapeworm infection, by ensuring that pork is well cooked before it is eaten. Nurses and others attending to a patient harbouring an adult tapeworm must be careful to avoid ingesting ova from contaminated hands. The tapeworm itself can be destroyed with NICLOSAMIDE. Brain infections are treated with sedatives and anti-convulsants, surgery rarely being necessary. Most patients make a good recovery.... cysticercosis

1. n. any drug or chemical agent used to destroy parasitic worms (helminths), e.g. tapeworms, roundworms, and flukes, and/or remove them from the body. Anthelmintics include *albendazole, *mebendazole, *niclosamide, and *praziquantel. 2. adj. having the power to destroy or eliminate helminths.... anthelmintic

n. an agent, such as *niclosamide, that eliminates tapeworms from the body of their host.... taeniafuge