fenben lab fenbendazol is an oral medication that is used to treat a wide variety of parasitic infections in cats, dogs and ferrets. It is effective for treating many intestinal helminth parasites in pets including ascarids, hookworms, whipworms, lungworms and tapeworms. It is also effective in treating several forms of protozoal infections including Giardia and echinococcosis.
In addition to its antihelminthic activity, fenbendazole has been shown to have tumor suppressing effects in mice and rats. These effects have been attributed to the inhibition of cell division and/or direct cell death caused by fenbendazole. These effects have been shown to be enhanced when fenbendazole is combined with certain vitamins.
This combination has been shown to increase the sensitivity of cancer cells to fenbendazole and improve the overall effectiveness of this drug as a tumor suppressant. The effect of fenbendazole on cancer is a result of its ability to inhibit the enzyme cytochrome p4501A (CYP1A). CYP1A is the key enzyme involved in the metabolic transformation of most benzimidazoles including fenbendazole and mebendazole.
When given at recommended doses, fenbendazole has few side effects. Some pets, particularly young animals or those with liver or kidney disease, may be more sensitive to this medication. If your pet experiences any side effects, talk to your veterinarian immediately.
This medication can be purchased from most veterinary offices. It comes as granules that can be given directly to your pet or in liquid suspension that is administered by mouth. Liquid fenbendazole must be measured carefully and given with food to reduce gastrointestinal upset. Whenever possible, this medication should be stored at room temperature and kept out of sunlight. Unless otherwise instructed by your veterinarian, this medication should be taken for 3-5 days in order to kill the parasites and prevent new infection.
Recently, during a facility treatment for Aspiculuris tetraptera pinworms at our institution, human lymphoma xenografts failed to grow in C.B-17/Icr-Prkdcscid/Crl (SCID) mice fed a diet containing both fenbendazole and supplemental vitamins. The dietary regimen was chosen to replicate the commonly performed 8-wk facility treatment in which fenbendazole is combined to treat rodent pinworms. The supplemental vitamin component of the diet was added to compensate for loss of vitamins in sterilization and autoclaving of the sterilizable diet. However, the supplementary vitamin concentrations did not differ among the 4 diet groups, suggesting that it was the fenbendazole that prevented growth of the lymphoma xenograft. fenben lab fenbendazol