Short Course of Miltefosine and Antimony to Treat Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Bolivia
Summary
The combination of a half-course of miltefosine and a half-course of antimony will be evaluated for efficacy and tolerance. The combination of miltefosine and antimony is chosen because these are now the two standard agents in Bolivia, and in vitro the combination was additive to mildly synergistic against a standard leishmania strain.
Description
Combination therapy is now being used for many infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV. Combination therapy offers the potential of preventing drug resistance, because organisms resistant to one of the drugs may be susceptible to the other drug; and also the potential to diminish drug therapy duration and thus side effects. These two potential benefits to some extent contradict each other: preventing resistance is best done if full courses of both drugs is used; diminishing therapy duration means using less than the full course of each drug. The optimum combination regimen is one in which sufficient amounts of both drugs are used to have high efficacy, yet the amounts are as low as possible to spare patients unnecessarily long courses of drug.
Until recently, the standard treatment for the leishmaniases was pentavalent antimony (Glucantime or Pentostam). The cure rate for L panamensis in Colombia is 91%-93% [Soto, 1993; Velez, 1997] and the cure rate in Bolivia, in work soon to be completed, is also 90% [ Soto, unpublished results]. A large study with several formulations of antimony found a combined Bolivia-Colombia cure rate of 86% [Soto, 2004b]. Nevertheless, pentavalent antimonials have the disadvantages of multiple injections and mild-moderate clinical toxicity [gastrointestinal complaints, liver enzyme elevations, pancreatic enzyme elevations], all of which are particularly unpleasant for a moderate clinical problem such as cutaneous leishmaniasis.
The oral agent Miltefosine has now been shown to be as effective as antimony in Colombia and Bolivia. In Colombia, the cure rate for miltefosine was 91% [Soto 2004a] and in the soon to be completed comparative trial in Bolivia, the cure rate for miltefosine appears to be 92% [Soto, unpublished results]. Side effects seen in patients with cutaneous disease that can be specifically attributed to the drug are nausea and vomiting of mild grade in approximately 25% of patients, and low-grade elevation of creatinine also in approximately 25% of patients [Soto 2001; Soto 2004]. A further disadvantage of miltefosine is that regimens shorter than 4 weeks have not been evaluated for cutaneous disease.
Study Design
Allocation: Randomized, Control: Active Control, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment
Conditions
Cutaneous Leihmaniasis
Intervention
Miltefosine , meglumine antimoniate
Location
Hospital Dermatológico
Jorochito
Santa Cruz
Bolivia
00000
Status
Recruiting
Source
Centro de Investigaciones Bioclínicas de la Fundación Fader
Results (where available)
Links
- Source: http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00537953
- Information obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov on July 15, 2010
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Iothalamic Acid
A contrast medium in diagnostic radiology with properties similar to those of diatrizoic acid. It is used primarily as its sodium and meglumine (IOTHALAMATE MEGLUMINE) salts.
Leishmania Mexicana
A parasitic hemoflagellate of the subgenus Leishmania leishmania that infects man and animals including rodents. The Leishmania mexicana complex causes both cutaneous (LEISHMANIASIS, CUTANEOUS) and diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (LEISHMANIASIS, DIFFUSE CUTANEOUS) and includes the subspecies amazonensis, garnhami, mexicana, pifanoi, and venezuelensis. L. m. mexicana causes chiclero ulcer, a form of cutaneous leishmaniasis (LEISHMANIASIS, CUTANEOUS) in the New World. The sandfly, Lutzomyia, appears to be the vector.
Leishmaniasis
A disease caused by any of a number of species of protozoa in the genus LEISHMANIA. There are four major clinical types of this infection: cutaneous (Old and New World) (LEISHMANIASIS, CUTANEOUS), diffuse cutaneous (LEISHMANIASIS, DIFFUSE CUTANEOUS), mucocutaneous (LEISHMANIASIS, MUCOCUTANEOUS), and visceral (LEISHMANIASIS, VISCERAL).
Leishmania Braziliensis
A parasitic hemoflagellate of the subgenus Leishmania viannia that infects man and animals. It causes cutaneous (LEISHMANIASIS, CUTANEOUS), diffuse cutaneous (LEISHMANIASIS, DIFFUSE CUTANEOUS), and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (LEISHMANIASIS, MUCOCUTANEOUS) depending on the subspecies of this organism. The sandfly, Lutzomyia, is the vector. The Leishmania braziliensis complex includes the subspecies braziliensis and peruviana. Uta, a form of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the New World, is caused by the subspecies peruviana.
Mastocytosis, Cutaneous
Skin lesions due to abnormal infiltration of MAST CELLS. Cutaneous mastocytosis is confined to the skin without the involvement of other tissues or organs, and is mostly found in children. The three major variants are: URTICARIA PIGMENTOSA; diffuse cutaneous mastocytosis; and SOLITARY MASTOCYTOMA OF SKIN.
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PubMed Articles
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