Allopurinol and Albendazole efficacy against trichinosis in experimentally-infected mice

Background: In trichinosis, current treatments (Albendazole), have limited efficiency in eliminating encapsulated larvae because of poor absorption and potential side effects at higher doses. Objective: The therapeutic efficacy of allopurinol, given alone or in combination with albendazole, was investigated in a murine model of trichinosis. Material and Methods: Eighty male albino mice were assigned to two experimental phases: an intestinal phase-experiment I and a muscle phase-experiment II. In each experiment, mice were divided into four treatment groups: infected untreated administered normal saline; treated with albendazole (50 mg/kg); allopurinol (30 mg/kg); and combined treatment. In both experiments, efficacy was evaluated on the 6th, and 45th day of infection, respectively. Parameters used were parasite burden in the intestine and in 3 muscle tissues (tongue, diaphragm, and thoracic muscle), and histopathological examinations. Results: Albendazole alone reduced intestinal worm burden by 98.53% with limited effect on muscle larvae (56.86-59.44% reduction). Allopurinol showed moderate effect on intestinal worms (69.41% reduction) but with higher efficacy against muscle larvae (83.93-87.36% reduction). The combined therapy was the most effective, reducing intestinal worms by 98.76%, and muscle larvae by 93.6994.71%. Histopathological examination showed that the combined treatment minimized inflammation and myodestruction with extensive larval degeneration. Conclusion: Allopurinol showed higher efficiency against muscular trichinosis, while albendazole was more effective against intestinal trichinosis. The combination therapy yielded promising results against both phases, suggesting potential as an improved treatment for trichinosis. Further clinical investigations are recommended to confirm these findings.