[Treatment of pneumocystosis: preclinical evaluation]

There are now three methods to evaluate treatments of pneumocystosis: (1) the animal model, using adult rats under corticosteroids; the intensity of infection is assessed on pulmonary appositions and can then be evaluated after administration of a potential treatment compared with a reference; (2) the in vitro propagation of P. carinii observed from rat lung extracts cultured on cell lines; this method, however, is limited by the difficulties encountered in quantifying the parasitic types; (3) the inhibition by the drugs tested of enzymes involved in folate synthesis is a method that is still under evaluation. The animal model remains the reference method.