Types Of Leishmaniasis Research Articles

Decanethiol functionalized silver nanoparticles are new powerful leishmanicidals in vitro.

We evaluated, for the first time, the leishmanicidal potential of decanethiol functionalized silver nanoparticles (AgNps-SCH) on promastigotes and amastigotes of different strains and species of Leishmania: L. mexicana and L. major isolated from different patients suffering from localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and L. mexicana isolated from a patient suffering from diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL). We recorded the kinetics of promastigote growth by daily parasite counting for 5 days, promastigote mobility, parasite reproduction by CFSE staining's protocol and promastigote killing using the propidium iodide assay. We also recorded IC50's of promastigotes and amastigotes, therapeutic index, and cytotoxicity by co-culturing macrophages with AgNps-SCH or sodium stibogluconate (Sb) used as reference drug. We used Sb as a reference drug since it is used as the first line treatment for all different types of leishmaniasis. At concentrations 10,000 times lower than those used with Sb, AgNps-SCH had a remarkable leishmanicidal effect in all tested strains of parasites and there was no toxicity to J774A.1 macrophages since > 85% were viable at the concentrations used. Therapeutic index was about 20,000 fold greater than the corresponding one for Sb treated cells. AgNps-SCH inhibited > 80% promastigote proliferation in all tested parasites. These results demonstrate there is a high leishmanicidal potential of AgNps-SCH at concentrations of 0.04 µM. Although more studies are needed, including in vivo testing of AgNps-SCH against different types of leishmaniasis, they can be considered a potential new treatment alternative.

Perfil epidemiológico dos pacientes com leishmaniose tegumentar americana no município de Ilhéus – Bahia

Objetivou-se analisar o perfil epidemiológico de 442 pacientes com leishmaniose tegumentar americana no município de Ilhéus entre os anos de 2007 a 2012. A coleta de dados foi realizada na vigilância epidemiológica do município Ilhéus, utilizando como banco de dados os casos notificados e digitados no sistema nacional de notificação de agravos de leishmaniose tegumentar americana. Foram analisadas informações sobre, sexo, faixa etária, escolaridade, critério de confirmação, tipo da leishmaniose, medicação utilizada, conclusão do caso. No município de Ilhéus a letalidade em leishmaniose tegumentar americana foi nula durante o período de estudo e a partir do ano de maior ocorrência houve um decréscimo dos casos positivos. Os indivíduos mais propícios à doença são do sexo masculino, entre 20 a 49 anos, residente em áreas rurais, pardos, autóctone. A forma mais incidente é a cutânea e a droga mais utilizada para o tratamento é a antimonial pentavalente. Não foi confirmada a sazonalidade da doença entre os meses e anos observados e nenhum surto da doença durante o período estudado no município de Ilhéus – Bahia. As informações deste estudo servirão para auxiliar o planejamento de ações epidemiológicas de saúde pública, visando medidas particulares de proteção conforme caracterização local. A partir destes resultados, espera-se mostrar a importância da notificação de investigação, diagnóstico precoce e tratamento eficaz para reduzir sequelas, bem como contribuir para a prevenção e controle da doença na cidade.

CLADISTIC ANALYSIS OF SANDFLIES (DIPTERA: PHLEBOTOMIDAE) WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO EXTERNAL GENITALIA

Phlebotomidae is a hematophagous dipteran fly and vector of various types of leishmaniasis in India and other parts of the world. The disease has been endemic in the various parts of the country such as Bihar, Jharkhand,West Bengal, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, some part of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and TamilNadu.There are several reports regarding the development of several new foci of the disease in the high elevation of the Himalaya, especially in the Jammu and Kashmir and Northwest Himalaya. Characters of the external male and female genitalia are considered as the most reliable tool in the systematic work (Neglected in the most previous works) and more than 26 characters have been identified for cladistic analysis. An attempt has been made for weighing of the characters and cladistic analysis based on genetalia of sandfly.

Susceptibility status of wild population of Phlebotomus sergenti (Diptera: Psychodidae) to different imagicides in a endemic focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in northeast of Iran.

Phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) transmit several important zoonotic diseases to humans and leishmaniasis is one of them. Two types of leishmaniasis, viz. visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are endemic in Iran. The main vector of anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is Phlebotomus sergenti. The aim of the present study was to determine the susceptibility status of wild strain of P. sergenti to different imagicides of DDT, bendiocarb and permethrin at the median lethal time, LT50 level. Sandflies were collected from selected village in North Khorasan Province, northeast of Iran from indoors using CDC light-traps. Susceptibility test was carried out against DDT (4%), bendiocarb (0.1%) and permethrin (0.75%) for all the females according to WHO method, and mortality was calculated. Species identification was carried out using the morphological keys. Data were analysed using probit regression analysis to determine the LT50 and LT90 values. In total, 851 female P. sergenti sandflies were tested. LT50 values to DDT (4%), Bendiocarb (0.1%) and permethrin (0.75%) were 15.4, 19.2 and 6.3 min respectively. The values for LT90 were 51.1, 47.4 and 18.6 min respectively. The mortality rates for 1 h exposure time to DDT, bendiocarb and permethrin were 89.8 ± 1.4; 93.6 ± 1.4; and 95.6 ± 1.7%, respectively. The suscesptibility studies revealed development of resistance against DDT (4%) in the wild strain of P. sergenti population. Monitoring and mapping of insecticide resistance in the region is recommended for vector control.

Sand fly fever: an important vector-borne diseases for travelers?

Context: Sand fly fever is a vector-borne viral infection and is endemic in many parts of the world, particularly in areas that are infected with different types of leishmaniasis. Clinical spectrum ranges from asymptomatic infection to very high fever and photophobia in patients. During the last decades, an increase in imported sand fly fever cases in developed and nonendemic countries have been pointed out from an international literature review. Among the possible causes are increasing international travelers, travel of immigrants from endemic area, and army operations. It has been noted that the main region for the diseases are west of Asia and east of Europe, and perhaps imported cases may be seen clinically in different parts of the world, either in developed or in developing countries. Materials and Methods: Two methods were used to gather the information for this article. First, PubMed was searched for English language references to published relevant articles. Second, the term sand fly fever was searched on Google Scholar too. Results: In PubMed , 156 articles and in Google Scholar, 70,400 articles mentioned the term sand fly fever. The most searched items in PubMed were epidemiology, treatment, prevention, and life cycle with incidences of 41.66, 20.51, 13.46, and 1.92%, respectively, and in terms of geographical distribution of the study, the maximum number of articles in PubMed were published from Europe, Asia, Australia, and America, with percentages being 26.92, 17.30, 17.0, 1.28, and 1.28%, respectively. Conclusion: Different countries have reported the disease either as an endemic or as an imported one. co-infection. Sand fly fever must be considered in the diagnostic assessment of patients presenting with a similar clinical syndrome and a history of travel to an endemic area, which are mentioned above. Adventure travelers, researchers, military personnel, and other groups of travelers likely to be exposed to sand flies in endemic areas; these travelers should receive counseling regarding sand fly fever appropriate protective health measures. In this review article sand fly fever situation will be studied.

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Successfully Treated by Liposomal Amphotericin B

Abstract Leishmaniasis is a group of vector-borne diseases, caused by a group of protozoa belonging to the genus Leishmania. It is usually transmitted by sandfly vectors. There are 2 types of leishmaniasis: visceral and cutaneous. We report a case of cutaneous leishmaniasis in a young male caused by Leishmania panamensis. We also discuss the clinical features, diagnostic tools, differential diagnosis, and management options for cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Sandfly and Leishmaniasis: A Review

Sandfly has a long history of association with humans, which still are suffering from its harmful impacts. It parasites humans and other animals and acts as a source of nuisance and annoyance to them. The present bibliographical study explains the role of Sandfly as a disease vector of Leishmaniasis. This article highlights various aspects of the life of the vector which includes its general description of morphology, biology, life cycle, and major control strategies. Regarding to control strategies of the vector, it was reviewed that chemical control is the most common and efficient technique but sensitivity to is decreasing due to increased insecticide resistance and environmental constraints. This article also highlights the different types of Leishmaniasis and symptoms, treatment, mortality rate and species diversity of Sandfly in Pakistan.

Examining the reservoir potential of animal species for $$\varvec{\textit{Leishmania infantum}}$$ Leishmania infantum infection

Leishamaniasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by sandfly Phlebotomus spp. and is seen in tropical and subtropical countries in which an estimated 12 million persons are infected. Among various types of leishmaniasis, zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) caused by Leishmania infantum is an important amphixenosis shared by human and other animals. Although identifying the natural reservoir host would help better understand the transmission dynamics of Leishmania spp., little effort has been made to quantitatively clarify the dynamics involving the reservoir host of ZVL. The present study investigated the reservoir potential of four wild animals in maintaining ZVL, using prevalence data from Latin American countries in Amazons and examining the role of crab-eating fox, spiny rat, common opossum and black rat in maintaining the transmission. Reflecting frequent reinfections, a susceptible-infected-susceptible model was employed, enabling us to estimate model parameters from endemic prevalence data. The next generation matrix of the multi-host system was computed, permitting us to theoretically examine the reservoir potential of each animal species. Our estimates indicated that there is no unique reservoir host consisting of single animal species. Crab eating fox was considered to play an important role in maintaining L. infantum transmission, but this was the case only in combination with other hosts. The present study indicates that animal species other than canine play important roles in maintaining transmission of Leishmania infantum, which is different from conventional wisdom that centered on the importance of canine only. Greater sample size with additional entomological and genetic insights into inter-specific contact would be required to implement more explicit assessments.

Kinases as druggable targets in trypanosomatid protozoan parasites.

1.1. Kinetoplastid Parasites as Pathogenic Parasites: Overview, Life Cycle, Relevance of Life Stages to Health Over the past decade, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have seen a surge in research interest in the area of drug discovery. Protozoan pathogens that cause three of these NTDs, Chagas disease, human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), and leishmaniasis, have been the focus of increasing numbers of reported drug discovery focused publications. This has been fueled by the elucidation of the pathogen genomes, and the ability to map targets between parasite and human enzymes, for which a large amount of target-based drug discovery has been performed, both inside and outside the pharmaceutical industry. It has been aided by the parasites that cause these diseases being cultivatable and amenable to reverse genetic manipulation and by the existence of mouse infection model systems. Their analysis has resulted in important fundamental discoveries, but there remain substantial gaps in knowledge, especially with respect to characteristics that can be the foundation for needed therapeutic interventions. In humans, kinases have been a significant focus of the drug discovery efforts, representing nearly a third of the “druggable genome”,1 and many of these enzymes have been validated with respect to a wide range of therapeutic indications. With this background in mind, this review will focus on tools and approaches for understanding the essentiality of kinase targets in Trypanosoma brucei that causes HAT, T. cruzi that causes Chagas disease, and Leishmania spp. that cause the various types of leishmaniasis, and it will describe recent efforts to translate the understanding of these targets into new therapeutic approaches. While kinases phosphorylate a wide variety of molecules (e.g., lipids, carbohydrates, amino acids, nucleotides, etc.), this review is primarily focused on protein kinases because of their great diversity both in humans and their pathogens. In addition, these kinases play critical biological roles and have been shown to be valid drug targets. We do include in the Chemistry section, however, examples of small molecule discovery efforts that focused on nonprotein kinases. These three parasites belong to the order Kinetoplastidae and cause extensive human suffering and death worldwide, as well as significant economic damage due to diseases that they cause in livestock (Table 1).2 Although they are insect-borne, this review will center upon the human host specific life stages of the parasite because of the relevance to drug discovery. The full life cycles for these three pathogens are reviewed elsewhere in this issue.3 The diseases due to these parasites are quite widespread, but their transmission by insect vectors largely limits their range to tropical and subtropical regions and primarily to poor populations and travelers to the regions with infected vectors. However, transmission also occurs by blood transfusion and ingestion of contaminated foods and infrequently by direct transfer between animals. Table 1 Summary of Epidemiological Characteristics of Chagas Disease, Human African Trypanosomiasis, and Leishmaniasisa

Genetically Modified Organisms and Visceral Leishmaniasis

Vaccination is the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases. Since the eradication of small pox in 1976, many other potentially life compromising if not threatening diseases have been dealt with subsequently. This event was a major leap not only in the scientific world already burdened with many diseases but also in the mindset of the common man who became more receptive to novel treatment options. Among the many protozoan diseases, the leishmaniases have emerged as one of the largest parasite killers of the world, second only to malaria. There are three types of leishmaniasis namely cutaneous (CL), mucocutaneous (ML), and visceral (VL), caused by a group of more than 20 species of Leishmania parasites. Visceral leishmaniasis, also known as kala-azar is the most severe form and almost fatal if untreated. Since the first attempts at leishmanization, we have killed parasite vaccines, subunit protein, or DNA vaccines, and now we have live recombinant carrier vaccines and live attenuated parasite vaccines under various stages of development. Although some research has shown promising results, many more potential genes need to be evaluated as live attenuated vaccine candidates. This mini-review attempts to summarize the success and failures of genetically modified organisms used in vaccination against some of major parasitic diseases for their application in leishmaniasis.

Modular multiantigen T cell epitope-enriched DNA vaccine against human leishmaniasis.

The leishmaniases are protozoal diseases that severely affect large populations in tropical and subtropical regions. There are only limited treatment options and preventative measures. Vaccines will be important for prevention, control and elimination of leishmaniasis, and could reduce the transmission and burden of disease in endemic populations. We report the development of a DNA vaccine against leishmaniasis that induced T cell-based immunity and is a candidate for clinical trials. The vaccine antigens were selected as conserved in various Leishmania species, different endemic regions, and over time. They were tested with T cells from individuals cured of leishmaniasis, and shown to be immunogenic and to induce CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell responses in genetically diverse human populations of different endemic regions. The vaccine proved protective in a rodent model of infection. Thus, the immunogenicity of candidate vaccine antigens in human populations of endemic regions, as well as proof of principle for induction of specific immune responses and protection against Leishmania infection in mice, provides a viable strategy for T cell vaccine development.

Bayesian Geostatistical Modeling of Leishmaniasis Incidence in Brazil

BackgroundLeishmaniasis is endemic in 98 countries with an estimated 350 million people at risk and approximately 2 million cases annually. Brazil is one of the most severely affected countries.MethodologyWe applied Bayesian geostatistical negative binomial models to analyze reported incidence data of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil covering a 10-year period (2001–2010). Particular emphasis was placed on spatial and temporal patterns. The models were fitted using integrated nested Laplace approximations to perform fast approximate Bayesian inference. Bayesian variable selection was employed to determine the most important climatic, environmental, and socioeconomic predictors of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis.Principal FindingsFor both types of leishmaniasis, precipitation and socioeconomic proxies were identified as important risk factors. The predicted number of cases in 2010 were 30,189 (standard deviation [SD]: 7,676) for cutaneous leishmaniasis and 4,889 (SD: 288) for visceral leishmaniasis. Our risk maps predicted the highest numbers of infected people in the states of Minas Gerais and Pará for visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis, respectively.Conclusions/SignificanceOur spatially explicit, high-resolution incidence maps identified priority areas where leishmaniasis control efforts should be targeted with the ultimate goal to reduce disease incidence.

Isolated mucosal Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is a term used to define a group of clinical syndrome caused by various species of parasite Leishmania. Three main clinical types of leishmaniasis are visceral leishmaniasis, cutaneous leishmaniasis and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. However, isolated presentation as mucosal disease is rare. We report a case of primarily mucosal leishmaniasis.

Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is the main species causing cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Federal District of Brazil

The first autochthonous case of American cutaneous leishmaniasis was reported in the Federal District in 1980, and the species involved in this type of leishmaniasis was unknown. This study aimed to identify the species that causes the disease in the Federal District and to investigate its clinical and epidemiological aspects. Between 2000 and 2007, 71 autochthonous cases of leishmaniasis were reported in the Federal District. Leishmania species were identified by means of direct immunofluorescence reactions using monoclonal antibodies and restriction fragment length polymorphism. The species of 40 (56.33%) out of 71 samples were identified. Thirty-six (90%) were identified as Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis and four (10%) were identified as Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis. In this area, the disease had clinical and epidemiological characteristics similar to those found in other Brazilian regions.

Drug delivery strategies for therapy of visceral leishmaniasis

Importance of the field: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is the most overwhelming type of leishmaniasis associated with the poverty of developing countries and usually mortal if untreated. Most of the conventionally used dosage forms offer us the shortcomings of toxic side effects and emergence of drug resistance. Several efforts have been made to overcome the barriers involved in the treatment of VL. Colloidal carriers extensively represent the drug delivery systems (DDSs) for intracellular localization of antileishmanial compounds in macrophage-rich organs such as liver, spleen and bone marrow. These DDSs offer superior therapeutic efficacy over the conventional treatment in terms of site-specific drug delivery with reduced side effects. However, after 35 years of research in the field, AmBisome® (Amphotericin B liposome for injection, Astellas Pharma US, Inc.) is the only DDS used against the VL.Areas covered in this review: A literature search was performed (for drugs and DDSs against VL) on PubMed and through Google.What the reader will gain: This review aims to describe the pathophysiology of VL and its current conventional treatment with special reference to DDSs designed against VL.Take home message: On reviewing the conventional drugs and DDSs developed against VL, it is concluded that advances in the field of targeted drug delivery can result in more efficient strategies for the therapy of VL.

Biostatistics of leishmaniasis in Saudi Arabia

Biostatistics is a very important tool for health planning and management. Both cutaneous and visceral types of leishmaniasis exist in Saudi Arabia with the predominance of the first type. This statistics commentary is written to review in numbers the cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis in Saudi Arabia from 1983-2004. Sudanese Journal of Dermatology Vol. 4(1) 2006: 6-9

DISSEMINATED CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS DUE TO LEISHMANIA GUYANENSIS: CASE OF A PATIENT WITH 425 LESIONS

Disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis is characterized by the presence of a large (> or =10) number of lesions at several anatomic sites (head, limbs, and trunk). Most of the lesions are small, papular, and appear simultaneously with or secondarily to one or several ulcerated lesions of localized cutaneous leishmaniasis. We report the first case of disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis in French Guiana. It concerns a 24-year-old woman who tested negative for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The disease began with three lesions that became ulcerated. One week later, multiple papulo-nodular lesions appeared. We counted a total of 425 lesions. Leishmania were observed in the lesions. The species involved was L. guyanensis, which has never been described in a case of disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis. The patient was rapidly cured by a single course of pentamidine. Disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis should be distinguished from other types of leishmaniasis with multiple lesions. These include anergic diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis, post-kala-azar leishmaniasis, and leishmaniasis associated with HIV infection.

Successful treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with lipid formulations of amphotericin B in two immunocompromised patients

Pentavalent antimonial drugs are habitually the first choice for treating leishmaniasis, although they possess well-known toxicity and may present some therapeutic failure. Lipid formulations of amphotericin B (LFAB) have been increasingly used for treating several types of leishmaniasis. However, the administration of such lipid formulations specifically to patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is still rare, including immunocompromised patients to whom standard treatments are more frequently contraindicated. We describe here two cases of immunocompromised patients with CL, one of them with AIDS, representing the first case of AIDS and CL co-infection treated with LFAB described in the literature. The patient achieved therapeutic success with a total 1.500 mg dose of amphotericin B colloidal dispersion. The other had diabetes mellitus as well as kidney failure and was under dialysis, having obtained the healing of lesion with a total dose of 600 mg of liposomal amphotericin B. Thus, the authors suggest that LFAB can represent a safe, efficient and less toxic therapeutic alternative to pentavalent antimonials, as well as to the so-called second line drugs, pentamidine and amphotericin B deoxycholate.

Leishmaniose viscérale chronique au cours d'une chimiothérapie pour ostéosarcome métastatique

Leishmaniasis refers to a spectrum of diseases caused by Leishmania. Clinically, three types of leishmaniasis can be distinguished: the cutaneous, mucous and visceral leishmaniasis, the latter being caused by Leishmania donovani. An 11-year-old Thai, living in Belgium for 6 years, had surgery for a vertebral osteosarcoma with pulmonary metastases, followed by polychemotherapy, then pulmonary metastasectomy. During a post-chemotherapy bone marrow aplasia, febrile episode with a general condition impairment was noted and first treated by broad-spectrum antibiotherapy, then by amphotericin B, in the absence of any accurate etiology. The outcome first was favorable. Nevertheless, 7 months later, the visceral leishmaniasis diagnosis was made because of the recurrence of the same symptoms. Classical treatments by antimony derivatives (Glucantim), then liposomal amphotericin (Ambisome) proved to be inefficient. A liposomal amphotericin-gamma interferon association suppressed the symptoms without eradicating the parasite. The patient was given a maintenance therapy based on liposomal amphotericin. The stubborn and recurring nature of this chronic visceral leismaniosis can be due to the immune deficit inherent in the polychemotherapy performed in order to treat the metastatic osteosarcoma which currently is in first full remission.

Occlusive paromomycin for cutaneous leishmaniasis

Leishmania infections are among the most common parasitic diseases, with about ten million infected persons and 400 000 new infections every year.1 In Europe, infections with Leishmania major or Leishmania tropica are increasingly encountered due to travel and immigration. Both types of leishmaniasis may cause long-lasting ulcers on the skin that heal with scar formation. Many treatments have been developed, but some are painful or have serious side-effects. Because of the low risk-benefit ratio, treatment is frequently discouraged if lesions are not located on the face or on the hands.