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Curcumin alleviates eosinophilic meningitis through reduction of eosinophil count following albendazole treatment against Angiostrongylus cantonensis in mice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2011

LING-YUH SHYU*
Affiliation:
Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan, ROC Department of Parasitology, Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan, ROC
HAN-HSIN CHANG
Affiliation:
School of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan, ROC
JENG-DONG HSU
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan, ROC
DAVID PEI-CHENG LIN
Affiliation:
School of Medical Laboratory and Biotechnology, Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan, ROC
YING-HOCK TENG
Affiliation:
Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan, ROC Chung Shan Medical University, Department of Emergency Medicine, Taiwan, ROC
HSIU-HSIUNG LEE
Affiliation:
Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan, ROC Department of Parasitology, Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan, ROC
*
*Corresponding author: Chung Shan Medical University, Department of Parasitology, Taiwan, ROC, 110, Sec. 1, Jianguo N. Road., Taichung City 402, Taiwan. Tel: +886 4 24730022 ext 11642. Fax: 886-4-24714143. E-mail: sly@csmu.edu.tw

Summary

Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A. cantonensis) is the most common cause of parasitic eosinophilic meningitis worldwide. By using an animal model of BALB/c mice infected with A. cantonensis, previous studies indicated that the anthelmintic drug, albendazole, could kill A. cantonensis larvae and prevent further infection. However, the dead larvae will induce severe immune responses targeting at brain tissues. To alleviate the detrimental effects caused by the dead larvae, we administered curcumin, a traditional anti-inflammatory agent, as a complementary treatment in addition to albendazole therapy, to determine whether curcumin could be beneficial for treatment. The results showed that although curcumin treatment alone did not reduce worm number, combined treatment by albendazole and curcumin helped to reduce eosinophil count in the cerebrospinal fluid, better than using albendazole alone. This alleviating effect did not affect albendazole treatment alone, since histological analysis showed similar worm eradication with or without addition of curcumin. Nevertheless, curcumin treatment alone and combined albendazole-curcumin treatment did not inhibit MMP-9 expression in the brain tissue. In conclusion, curcumin, when used as a complementary treatment to albendazole, could help to alleviate eosinophilic meningitis through suppression of eosinophil count in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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