title: Activity of liposomal amphotericin B against experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis.
abstract: The polyene antibiotic amphotericin B is currently a second-line treatment for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Lipid-amphotericin B formulations with lower toxicity than the parent drug that were developed for the treatment of systemic mycoses have proved to be an effective treatment for VL, especially AmBisome, a small unilamellar negatively charged liposome. In vitro, free amphotericin B was three to six times more active than the liposomal formulation AmBisome against both Leishmania major promastigotes in culture and amastigotes in murine macrophages. In a BALB/c L. major model of cutaneous infection, liposomal amphotericin B administered once a day on six alternate days by the intravenous route produced a dose-response effect between 6.25 and 50 mg/kg. Liposomal amphotericin B administered subcutaneously close to a lesion had no significant activity. Free drug was ineffective at nontoxic doses. The results suggest that liposomal amphotericin B may be useful in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Parasitology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Yardley
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Croft
mesh_terms: D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005260:Female; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008081:Liposomes; D008264:Macrophages / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D008081:Liposomes; D000666:Amphotericin B