ZENTEL ® Albendazole

ZENTEL ® is a drug based on Albendazole.

THERAPEUTIC GROUP: Antiparasitic

IndicationsAction mechanismStudies and clinical effectiveness Usage and dosage instructionsWarnings Pregnancy and lactationInteractionsContraindicationsUndesirable effects

Indications ZENTEL ® Albendazole

ZENTEL ® is used in the clinical setting in the treatment of intestinal parasites supported by thermatodes, cestodes and nematodes and in the treatment of systemic helminth infestations such as those of Echinococcus granulosus .

Mechanism of action ZENTEL ® Albendazole

ZENTEL ® is a drug based on Albendazole, benzimidazole anthelmintic, whose characteristic pharmacokinetic profile allows the active ingredient to carry out an antiparasitic action both local (intestinal) and systemic.

Taken orally, in fact, it can carry out its therapeutic action on site, inhibiting the assembly of the tubulin and profoundly altering a series of important characteristics including the capacity to uptake and use glucose.

All this has repercussions on the metabolic activities of the parasite, which, once the ATP reserves have ended, undergoes paralysis and subsequent death with the consequent intestinal elimination through the faeces.

The small amount of active ingredient absorbed at the intestinal level, undergoes a first hepatic metabolism with the transformation to sulphoxide and with the consequent distribution at the systemic level, where it is effective in the treatment of Echinococcus cysts, concentrated above all at the hepatic level.

After a half-life of more than eight hours, Albendazole sulphoxide is eliminated mainly via the bile and to a minimal extent by urine.

Studies carried out and clinical efficacy

THE ALBENDAZOLO IN THE CONTROL OF PARASITOSIS

N Engl J Med. 2012 Apr 19; 366 (16): 1498-507. doi: 10.1056 / NEJMoa1103360.

Work that demonstrates how the preventive administration of Albendazole in emigrants from the African territory and from South East Asia, can considerably limit the prevalence of parasitosis due to intestinal nematodes.

THE USE OF ALBENDAZOLO IN THE IPEREOSINOFILIA

Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2012 May; 29 (4): 354-7.

Interesting study that shows how the administration of Albendazole at 15 mg / kg for ten days can significantly improve the clinical course characterized by petechia and haemorrhages in patients with evident hypereosinophilia.

THE ALBENDAZOLO IN THE TREATMENT OF PARASITTOSI FROM ASCARIS LUMBRICOIDES

Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2012 Aug; 5 (8): 605-9. doi: 10.1016 / S1995-7645 (12) 60125-4.

Work that reaffirms the persistent usefulness of Albendazole in the treatment of parasites from Ascaris Lumbricoides in the Indonesian population, even in the face of new commercialized pesticides.

Method of use and dosage

ZENTEL ®

Albendazole 400 mg tablets for oral use.

Albendazole therapy should be defined by your doctor or specialist in the treatment of parasitosis, based on the patient's physiopathological features and the severity of the clinical picture present.

Dosages and duration of treatment therefore vary significantly from case to case, considering therapies that can last from a few days to several weeks.

If you want to enhance the systemic action of the drug it would be preferable to take ZENTEL ® with meals.

Warnings ZENTEL ® Albendazole

Treatment with Albendazole should be preceded by a careful medical examination in order to evaluate all the potential risks of the therapy and above all the potential contraindications to the use of the active principle in certain risk categories.

It is useful to remember how, unlike the treatment of intestinal infestations, mostly characterized by short-term therapeutic cycles, the treatment of systemic parasitoses, for which the prolonged use of Albendazole over time is necessary, could induce a significant increase side effects of therapy.

The hepatic metabolism to which the drug is subjected imposes the maximum caution in the use of ZENTEL ® in patients suffering from liver pathologies.

It is recommended to store the drug in a cool, dry place and especially out of the reach of children.

PREGNANCY AND BREASTFEEDING

The suspected teratogens and mutagens attributed to Albendazole inevitably extend the contraindications to the use of ZENTEL ® also to pregnancy and the subsequent period of breastfeeding.

Interactions

Different pharmacokinetic studies show that the pharmacokinetic characteristics of Albendazole can be compromised by the simultaneous intake of active ingredients with hepatic tropism such as cimetidine, praziquantel and dexamethasone.

Contraindications ZENTEL ® Albendazole

The use of ZENTEL ® is contraindicated in case of hypersensitivity to the active ingredient or to one of its excipients, during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Undesirable effects - Side effects

The use of ZENTEL ® especially when prolonged over time, as required during systemic parasites, could expose the patient to clinically relevant adverse reactions such as:

Gastro intestinal disorders with nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea;
Neurological disorders such as headache and vertigo;
Haematological changes with leukopenia, thrombicitopenia and rarely pancytopenia;
Hypersensitivity reactions with dermatological and systemic repercussions.