Interferência do tratamento de acupuntura por moxabustão na migração de larvas durante a infecção por strongyloides venezuelensis, em ratos wistar.

Abstract

Strongyloidiasis is a helminthiasis caused by Strongyloides stercoralis, an intestinal nematode belonging to the genus Strongyloides. It is estimated that approximately 100 million people are infected worldwide. For laboratory studies of this parasitosis, the experimental model adopted is that of rodents infected by a natural parasite of the species, the Strongyloides venezuelensis. Acupuncture is an ancient technique developed in China that has spread throughout the world and has been much studied due to its results obtained in clinical practice. In acupuncture, skin points are stimulated by specific needles triggering physiological responses that re-establish the equilibration of organism and thus promotes the treatment of different pathologies. One of the acupuncture is the moxibustion made by burning the leaf of Artemisia (Artemisia vulgaris L) used in treatments at the same acupuncture points stimulated by the needle. Previously it was observed by this group that acupuncture treatment is able to decrease the migration of larvae during the acute phase of S. venezuelensis infection. Therefore, this the purpose of this study was to analyze the interference of acupuncture moxibustion in the migration of larvae occurred in the infection by Strongyloides venezuelensis, in rats. Ten rats of the lineage wistar, males, adults at 13 weeks of age and weighing around 300 g. The animals were divided into two groups: Control Group - only infected with S. venezuelensi and Moxa Group - infected with S. venezuelensis and treated with Moxa,. The rats were infected with 2,000 larvae L3 of the parasite and treated with moxibustion for 20 minutes on the day of infection and on the 3rd post-infection day (dpi). On the days of treatment, measures such as of ration and water, body mass, and stool weight. At the end of the experiment the rats were anesthetized and killed by guillotine in 4ºdpi. After death, a thoracotomy was performed to removal of the lungs, and laparotomy for removal of the small intestine. The lungs were segmented and the intestine open longitudinally. Subsequently the organs were taken the incubator at 37 ° C and the larvae recovered by Baermann-Moraes technique for count of the number of larvae. There were no differences between groups in migrating larvae L3 for the lung (9,6 ± 3,97 vs 9,8 ± 2,58). However after treatment, the Moxa group presented a higher migration of L5 larvae to the small intestine when compared to the Control group, only infected (148,6 ± 12,95 vs 125,44 ± 15,95; P< 0,05). Those results show that moxibustion acupuncture treatment interfered with migration of Strongyloides venezuelensis larvae in the acute phase of infection,cold have favored the parasite in the host parasite relationship, unlike previously has been observed. It can be concluded that the treatment of moxibustion was able to accelerate the process of migration of larvae to the gut.