Histopathological and histoenzymatic studies on experimental Taenia saginata cysticercosis

In young Taenia saginata cysticerci the reactions for alkaline phosphatase (AlPh), acid phosphatase (AcPh), ATP-ases, succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) and lacto dehydrogenase (LDH) were mild. The reactions were concentrated in the walls of spiral canals (AlPh, SDH) and in the outer layer of the bladder (AlPh). The reactions were more intensive in older cysticerci. In these, the reaction of AlPh marked a network of blood vessels winding around the larva. In dying cysticerci the reactions for oxidative enzymes (SDH, LDH) were weaker but the activity of the hydrolytic enzymes (AlPh, AcPh) was increased. These findings suggest that histoenzymatic reactions may be helpful in determining the viability and the age of cysticerci. T. saginata cysticerci in sheep and goats provoked an early and intensive cellular reaction. The histopathological appearance of the cysticerci as they were destroyed in the abnormal hosts was similar to that of cysticerci localized in abnormal tissue of the natural host (e.g., lung of calves). Treatment with mebendazole caused an intensive infiltrative reaction against dying cysticerci and a degenerative process in the surrounding muscle tissue. The treatment with praziquantel provoked a weak infiltration around dead cysticerci and did not affect the muscle tissue. In both cases the remnants of T. saginata cysticerci disappeared very slowly.