C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 are elevated in onchocerciasis patients after ivermectin treatment.
J Infect Dis
; 170(3): 663-8, 1994 Sep.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-8077726
ABSTRACT
Ivermectin treatment of onchocerciasis can induce adverse reactions. Mechanisms underlying these reactions are poorly understood but may include activation of neutrophils. This study investigated the acute-phase response in onchocerciasis patients during 2 days after ivermectin treatment. The acute-phase protein C-reactive protein (CRP) and cytokines that mediate the acute-phase response (tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF alpha] and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) were measured in 144 skin snip-positive onchocerciasis patients and 12 skin snip-negative controls who received one dose of ivermectin (150 micrograms/kg). No elevated TNF alpha levels were found, but IL-6 and CRP were elevated in 25.7% and 50.7% of the patients, respectively, after ivermectin treatment. Most patients (89.2%) with raised IL-6 also had raised CRP. Such increases were not observed in controls and in patients were correlated with adverse reactions and microfilarial densities. These findings suggest a possible role of the acute-phase response in microfilarial destruction following ivermectin treatment.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Onchocerciasis
/
Ivermectin
/
C-Reactive Protein
/
Interleukin-6
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Infect Dis
Year:
1994
Document type:
Article