Oxfendazole in Neurocysticercosis Principal Investigator/Program Director: GARCIA, Hector H.
A multicenter, randomized controlled trial of single and three-dose
regimens of oxfendazole for mild (one or two lesions)
parenchymal brain cysticercosis
SUMMARY
Taenia solium neurocysticercosis (NCC), the infection of the human central nervous system by the cystic
larvae of Taenia solium, continues to be a major contributor to neurologic morbidity (particularly seizures
and epilepsy) in most of the developing world, and a common diagnosis in immigrant populations in the
USA and other industrialized countries. Anti-parasitic treatment destroys the brain cysts and improves the
prognosis of the seizure disorder. The combination of albendazole (ABZ) plus praziquantel (PZQ) is more
efficacious than ABZ alone in cases with multiple viable brain cysts, and recent publications also suggest
increased efficacy in individuals with mild infections (one to two lesions, by far the most form of
presentation in the Indian subcontinent, as well as in pediatric populations worldwide, in travelers to
endemic regions, and in non-endemic regions such as the US). Still the efficacy of the best available
regimens offer less than 70% efficacy in parenchymal brain NCC with one to two lesions. The recent
development of oxfendazole (OXF) as a potential anti-parasitic agent for human use may provide a new,
practical tool with increased efficacy and easier administration. We will perform a three-arm double blind,
randomized controlled trial in six centers in two different geographic regions, three in India and three in
Peru, to evaluate whether a single dose regime of OXF results in comparable efficacy to the currently used
10 day regime of ABZ plus PZQ, and also whether a 3-dose course of OXF can offer increased parasiticidal
efficacy. The study cohort will also allow identification of early imaging markers that may predict lesion
resolution in response to anti-parasitic treatment, and will provide additional data on the safety of oral OXF
and factors associated to residual scarring, seizure relapses, or reduced quality of life in this population.
Finally, systematic sampling in the cohort will provide defined batteries of DNA, white blood cells, serum
and urine samples for future evaluation of diagnostic assays for single-lesion parenchymal NCC.
