Importance of drug carriers in the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis
Fusai, T.; Durand, R.; Boulard, Y.; Paul, M.; Bories, C.; Rivollet, D.; Houin, R.; Deniau, M.
Medecine Tropicale Revue du Corps de Sante Colonial 55(1): 73-78
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0025-682X PMID: 7637615 Document Number: 444346
The treatment of choice for visceral leishmaniasis is still pentavalent antimonials but high toxicity and failures have been reported. An alternative, delivering anti-Leishmania agents using colloidal carrier systems, is reviewed here. Carriers improve drug activity against intracellular disease involving the mononuclear phagocyte system. The principle of drug delivery by carrier systems has been applied successfully for anticancer drugs. Recently, complete remission of polyresistant visceral leishmaniasis was obtained by injection of liposomal amphotericin B. At present, no colloidal drug carrier for antimony derivatives is available but pentamidine can be linked experimentally to methacrylate polymer nanoparticles. Drug-loaded nanoparticles have been shown to be effective against Leishmania amastigotes both in vitro and in vivo. Another colloidal system of major interest for drug delivery, the liposome, has already been loaded with amphotericin B and used for human therapy. The concept of particulate drug carriers opens the way for new chemotherapeutic approaches in the field of parasitology.