Liposomal amphotericin B in the treatment of the visceral leishmaniasis
| Author : Pierre Allain |
Date : 2010-2-15 |
Visceral leishmaniasis, kala-azar, is a parasitic disease caused by Leishmania donovani, prevailing in particular in certain areas of India.
Amphericin B is one of the main treatments of leishmaniasis but it necessitates a series of intravenous infusions when deoxycholate amphericin B is used.
A paper published in the NEJM of February 11th, 2010 compares the efficacy and the safety of deoxycholate amphotericin B in intravenous infusion at 1 mg per kilogram every other day during a month (15 infusions) with those of liposomal amphotericin B, at 10 mg per kilogram in a single infusion. The two types of administration of amphotericin B gave the same results concerning efficacy and safety.
For the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis liposomal amphericin B seems a better choice than the deoxycholate form.
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