Dr. Holló Ferenc szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 3. (Budapest, 1970)

Parasit. Hun». H. 147-158.1970 In Vitro Action of Tetramisole on Ascaris suum Dr. Anna LENGYEL — Dr. László Z0LÏA1 Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Public Health, Budapest Detection of the anti-nematode action of piperazine dérivâtes is regarded as the first success in the search for anthelmintics on the basis of biochemical and pharmacological studies. Following the discovery of the efficacy of diethylcarbamazine for the therapy of filariosis various salts of piperazine were shown to be effective for the treatment of ascaridosis. later findings resulted in drugs specific for ascaridosis which are still in use. The efficacy of piperazine compounds is related to their base content (piperazine-hexahydrate) while the acid residue has but slight effect (2l). The action of piperazine is exerted on metabolic processes of worm muscles giving rise to neuromuscular block and reversible paralysis (21, 18, 20, 8, 11). Different dosage schedules may be used in the treatment of ascaridosis; administration for 4-5 days is generally adopted for individual medication while for mass treatment a single, large dose is given. By the mass treatment problems of administration be a drawback to the efficacy of therapy. Thus for a „Single dose" (3-4 gm of piperazine base) one needs to take 8-10 or even more pills. There are few contraindications to the use of piperazine; side effects are rarely encountered and are of slight intensity.