Advances in Development of New Treatment for Leishmaniasis

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a neglected infectious disease caused by several different species of protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. Current strategies to control this disease are mainly based on chemotherapy. Despite being available for the last 70 years, leishmanial chemotherapy has lack of efficiency, since its route of administration is difficult and it can cause serious side effects, which results in the emergence of resistant cases. The medical-scientific community is facing difficulties to overcome these problems with new suitable and efficient drugs, as well as the identification of new drug targets. The availability of the complete genome sequence of Leishmania has given the scientific community the possibility of large-scale analysis, which may lead to better understanding of parasite biology and consequent identification of novel drug targets. In this review we focus on how high-throughput analysis is helping us and other groups to identify novel targets for chemotherapeutic interventions. We further discuss recent data produced by our group regarding the use of the high-throughput techniques and how this helped us to identify and assess the potential of new identified targets.

Nanostructured delivery systems with improved leishmanicidal activity: a critical review

“…187 Furthermore, the use of powerful CRISPR-Cas9 techniques of genome editing is now making it possible to accelerate the characterization of Leishmania genes, so as to develop new drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines. 188 From another standpoint, the medicinal chemistry approach continues to improve "old drugs", suggesting novel AmpB derivatives with high activity and increased safety.…”

Leishmaniasis Consulting Room at the IICS: its role in research

“…Existen varios aspectos de la fisiopatología y de la terapéutica de esta enfermedad que aún se desconocen (21)(22) y que, por tanto, pueden ser estudiados con los casos de este consultorio. Uno de ellos, tal vez el más intrincado, constituye el factor o factores que predisponen a un individuo que ha padecido leishmaniasis cutánea, a evolucionar al desarrollo de la forma mucosa.…”

Antileishmanial Chemotherapy: A Literature Review

“…118 Uma das maiores vantagens do uso da paromomicina para o tratamento da leishmaniose é o seu custo baixo, cerca de 10 doláres por paciente. 119 No entanto, a necessidade de administração parenteral pode representar uma dificuldade para a sua adoção em países pobres e em desenvolvimento.…”