effect of infection of the filarial parasite brugia malayi - Pondicherry ...

pahangi and no lesions in the kidneys (Crandell et al., 1982). Case et al. (1991) reported
eosinophilic abcesses and epithelioid and giant cell granulomas with fragmented worms
in various stages of disintegration in kidney, spleen, liver, lung, pulmonary blood vessel
and lymphatics of ferrets infected with B. malayi. Endothelial hyperplasia, blood vessel
obliteration with marked perivascular infiltration of lymphocytes, plasma cells,
eosinophils and numerous large macrophages laden with a coarse golden brown pigment
was also reported.
The pathological changes observed in the present study in various organs were of
inflammatory and degenerative nature suggesting tissue injury and body's response.
Since the mf circulated mainly in the blood vascular system and acted as parasitic emboli,
they might have got lost in smaller blood vessels, such as arterioles and capillaries of
various organs. This might have resulted in ischemia, tissue hypoxia and subsequent cell
injury seen in the form of various retrogressive changes. Toxic metabolic products of the
mf and adult parasites and hepatic damage leading to decreased detoxification capacity
can be considered as added factors in causation of degenerative changes in all the organs.
The inflammatory changes in various organs might be in response to the mf and adult
parasites as well as the necrosed tissues, which acted as foreign body. This is in
agreement with earlier reports by Schacher and Sahyoun (1967) and Malone el al.
(1976).
The adult parasite in the testes caused significant inflammatory changes, which
led to severe damage to spermatogenesis. In an earlier study adult worms had been
reported in testes (Malone ef al., 1976), but no significant pathological changes were
seen. In the present study the testicular damage after DEC treatment was more
pronounced. Since the DEC treatment was given after the development of parasites, they
got killed, calcified and elicited a foreign body reaction. Hence the changes became more
pronounced and testicular damage could not be reverted back. Further studies will be
required to understand the action of DEC in relation to stage of infection and possible
pathological outcome.