Active clinical trials for "Leishmaniasis"

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment with PMIM in patients with visceral leishmaniasis within the VL-endemic region of Bangladesh at EOT (21/22 days after treatment begins), and at 6 months after end of treatment (Day 202/203, -15 to +30 days).

The purpose of this study is to determine whether miltefosine is effective in the treatment of mucosal leishmaniasis compared to meglumine antimoniate, the standard treatment.

Infections caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania include cutaneous (CL), mucosal (ML) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Over 12 million people currently suffer from leishmaniasis, and approximately 2 million new cases occur annually, making it a major global health problem. CL CL caused by Leishmania tropica is endemic around the city of Bikaner in Thar Desert region of the State of Rajasthan . WHO recommends antimonials such as sodium stibogluconate (SSG) to treat CL. However, these drugs are toxic and have poor patient compliance as they require multiple intramuscular or intralesional injections for 3 weeks. In addition, the emergence of drug-resistant strains is rapidly increasing worldwide. We are interested in novel treatments for CL that are safe, easy to administer and effective in inducing long-term cure. Recently, radio-frequency-induced heat (RFH) therapy has been used to treat CL. This treatment involves the controlled and localized delivery of radiofrequencies into lesions for 30-60 seconds under local anesthesia. Several short-term follow-up (4-5 months) studies as well as one long-term follow-up (12 months) study involving US soldiers who were infected with L. major in Iraq found that RFH therapy was comparable, or even better, than systemic antimonials. However, more studies are needed to establish long-term efficacy of RFH therapy in treatment of CL caused by other Leishmania species that are difficult to treat with conventional drugs, and to determine the risk of disease recurrence if any in patients living in Leishmania endemic regions. The goal of this trial is to compare long term efficacy of RFH therapy in treatment of CL caused by L. tropica in patients residing in Leishmania-endemic regions of India.

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of an investigational vaccine being developed for the treatment of leishmaniasis, including cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). The vaccine, identified as LEISH-F2 + MPL-SE, consists of a Leishmania protein (LEISH-F2) together with an adjuvant MPL-SE.

The purpose of this Treatment Investigational New Drug application was to make miltefosine available for mucocutaneous leishmaniasis patients presenting in the United States. If entrance criteria were met, subjects with mucosal or cutaneous leishmaniasis received miltefosine at a targeted dose of 2.5 mg/kg/day for 28 days. During treatment at weeks 1, 2, and 4, the patient returned to the treatment facility to be assessed for adverse events. Blood for transaminase and creatinine values were drawn at the midpoint and at the end of therapy. Patients returned to the treatment facility to be examined clinically at 6 weeks (ie, 2 weeks after the end of therapy), 3 months (2 months after therapy), and 7 months (6 months after treatment) for mucosal leishmaniasis and cutaneous leishmaniasis patients, and also at 13 months (12 months after treatment) for mucosal leishmaniasis patients.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a worldwide disease, endemic in 88 countries, that has shown an increasing incidence the last two decades. It is estimated that in 2005, about of 20,000 new cases of CL were diagnosed in Colombia. So far, pentavalent antimony compounds have been considered the treatment of choice with a percentage of cure of about 85%. However, the high efficacy of these drugs is counteracted by their adverse events and disadvantages. Previous studies have shown that miltefosine could be a potential alternative of treatment for CL. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of miltefosine or thermotherapy for the treatment for CL. In this study the efficacy of oral treatment of miltefosine 150 mg/day for 28 days or a thermotherapy device used for one session at 50 celsius degrees during 30 seconds will be compared with the standard treatment of intramuscular injections of 20 mg/Kg/day of pentavalent antimonials (GlucantimeÒ) for 20 days in CL parasitologically proven patients. This trial will be conducted according to the International approved GCP (Good Clinical Practice) guidelines.

The purpose of this project is to investigate the efficacy of early, empiric anti-helminthic therapy combined with standard pentavalent antimony in the treatment of subjects co-infected with helminths and cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. brasiliensis. The study hypothesis is that early intervention with antihelminthic therapy will improve response rates to antimony in subjects with cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of the Leish-111f + MPL-SE vaccine given as three injections every 28 days at each of three dose levels of Leish-111f protein, in combination with standard pentavalent antimony therapy in adult patients with mucosal leishmaniasis.

This study will test whether addition of imiquimod to standard antimony therapy provides a significant benefit in subjects with newly diagnosed cutaneous leishmaniasis. Based on our previous results, we hypothesize that lesions in patients who receive the combined treatment of pentavalent antimony and imiquimod as a first line therapy will resolve more rapidly and produce less scarring than treatment with pentavalent antimony alone.

While vaccination against cutaneous leishmaniasis, a chronic ulcerating protozoan infection of the skin, has been possible for decades using live parasites, the production and storage of live cultures are difficult. Since inoculation occasionally leads to severe infection, most experts now advocate against their use. We have shown excellent protection using a "heat-killed" vaccine that combines autoclaved leishmania antigen with recombinant human interleukin-12 (rhIL-12) and aluminum hydroxide gel as adjuvants in a rhesus macaque model of disease. To assess the safety and immunogenicity of this vaccine in humans, we now propose a rhIL-12 dose escalation Phase I/II trial.