Table 3.
Effect of doxycycline treatment on Wolbachia loads in worm tissue: results of quantitative PCR
| Treatment group | Time (months) | Number of patients/nodules | Index ftsZ/actina
(10–90th percentiles) |
P valueb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placebo | 6 | 12/31 |
3.24 (0.3–19.5) |
– |
| 20 | 16/70 |
3.04 (0.2–27.0) |
– | |
| 27 | 7/19 |
1.85 (0.1–29.1) |
– | |
| Doxycycline (4 weeks) | 20 | 7/13 |
0.47 (0.01–3.2) |
0.0016 |
| 27 | 5/15 |
0.20 (0.04–3.31) |
0.0011 | |
| Doxycycline (6 weeks) | 6 | 10/33 |
0.19 (0.02–4.4) |
0.0005 |
| 20 | 12/22 |
0.30 (0.04–6.9) |
<0.0001 | |
| 27 | 5/11 |
0.13 (0.04–1.4) |
0.0004 |
DNA was prepared from portions of onchocercomas extirpated at the indicated time points, and the copy numbers of the Wolbachia single copy gene ftsZ and the nematode gene actin were determined by quantitative PCR
aMedian
bSignificant differences in the respective doxycycline compared to the placebo group (Mann–Whitney U test). No significant differences between the two doxycycline groups were observed at any time point