Development of Novel Therapeutics for Neglected Tropical Disease Leishmaniasis
Abstract
The leishmaniases comprise a number of diseases caused by obligate intracellular parasites of the genus Leishmania. More than 350 million people worldwide are at risk of contracting leishmaniasis. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common form of infection, which manifests as localized skin lesions that may heal or become chronic, leading to significant tissue destruction and disfigurement. Other forms of infections are diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL), mucosal leishmaniasis (ML), or potentially life-threatening visceral leishmaniasis (VL), which is characterized by dissemination of the parasites to the liver, spleen and bone marrow. Several drugs including pentavalent antimonials (Sb), Amphotericin B, miltefosine and paromomycin are used to treat leishmaniasis. However, all these drugs suffer from significant drawbacks, including the need for parenteral routes of administration, poor patient compliance due to long treatment lengths and toxicity, and/or high cost, which limits their use in disease endemic regions. In addition, the emergence of antimonial-resistant strains of VL is rapidly increasing worldwide. Therefore, there is a strong need for new anti-leishmanial drugs that are safe, affordable, and have broad-spectrum activity against different species of Leishmania, including Sb-resistant parasites.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1008742
Entities
People
- Geral C. Baldeviano