Efficacy and safety of praziquantel in the treatment of neurocysticercosis in Vietnam.

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a parasitic infection of the nervous system and is responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality. Praziquantel (PZQ) is one of the antiparasitics mostly used in managing NCC, however, there have been only a few studies on the treatment outcome of this drug. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PZQ in patients with NCC. Sixty patients with typical characteristics of NCC received three 10-day cycles of PZQ and the interruption between these cycles was 10 days. Additional treatment included antiinflammation (steroids), antiepileptics and analgesics. Clinical and imaging studies were done at baseline and six months after therapy to assess the efficacy of treatment. Laboratory evaluation was done before and after each cycle to investigate laboratory safety profiles. By six months after finishing therapy, all patients had clinical improvement and 75% of them were free of symptoms. The rates of complete, partial or no resolution of cysts on brain magnetic resonance imaging were 61.7%, 28.3% and 10% respectively. The efficacy of therapy was not associated with the number of cysts. There was no difference between the levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, urea and creatinine before and after treatment. Conclusion: Praziquantel is effective and safe in the treatment of patients with neurocysticercosis.

Study on the volatile oil contents of Annona glabra L., Annona squamosa L., Annona muricata L. and Annona reticulata L., from Vietnam.

The volatile compounds identified from four species of Annona from Vietnam are being reported. The oils were obtained from aliquots of plant samples by steam distillation and subjected to GC and GC-MS analysis. The main compounds of Annona glabra L., were ß-caryophyllene (21.5%) germacrene D (17.7%), α-cadinol (5.4%) and ß-elemene (5.2%). Annona squamosa L., comprised mainly of α-pinene (1.0-11.9%), limonene (0.8-11.7%), ß-cubebene (0.5-13.0%), ß-caryophyllene (11.6-24.5%), spathulenol (0.8-9.0%), caryophyllene oxide (1.0-10.6%) and α-cadinol (3.3-7.8%). The significant constituents of Annona muricata L., were α-pinene (9.4%), ß-pinene (20.6%), ρ-mentha-2,4(8)-diene (9.8%), ß-elemene (9.1%) and germacrene D (18.1%). However, camphene (0.2-6.6%), α-copaene (2.0-7.3%), ß-elemene (5.9-16.6%), ß-caryophyllene (8.3-14.9%), ß-bisabolene (0.4-10.2%), δ-cadinene (1.7-4.8%) and germacrene D (9.3-22.8%) were the main compounds common to samples of Annona reticulata L. There were significant amounts of sabinene (11.2% and 2.7%; leaf and stem bark) and bicycloelemene (9.6% and 6.1%; stem and bark).