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Nanoparticles — Preparation and Applications
Published in Max Donbrow, Microcapsules and Nanoparticles in Medicine and Pharmacy, 2020
Visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), one of the major tropical diseases, is caused by Leishmania donovani, an intracellular parasite of the reticuloendothelial system. Since nanoparticles accumulate in the reticuloendothelial system, they hold promise as drug carriers for the treatment of leishmaniasis. Dehydroemitine is one of the drug candidates for this treatment but has some side effects involving the heart.114 Dehydroemetine polyisohexyl-cyanoacrylate nanoparticles were produced by Fouarge et al.115 The acute toxicity of dehydroemetine in mice was significantly reduced after intravenous administration. The nanoparticle-bound drug accumulated rapidly in the liver and in the spleen, while the cardiac concentration was reduced in comparison to free drug.
Antimalarial and Other Antiparasitic Drugs
Published in Richard J. Sundberg, The Chemical Century, 2017
Like trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis is caused by a parasitic protozoa transmitted by insects. There are several forms. The most severe, called visceral leishmaniasis, also known as kala-azar, attacks internal organs. It is caused by L. donovani and is transmitted by a sandfly of the Phlebotomine family. It is found primarily in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Kenya. There are estimated to be 500,000 cases of visceral leismaniasis annually with 50,000 deaths. The other forms are called cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmanisis and are caused by other Leishmania species. Cutaneous lesiamaniasis caused by L. major is found mainly in the Middle-East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It is estimated that there are 1–1.5 million cases each year. Mucocutaneous leishmania in the Western Hemisphere is caused by several species, including L. braziliense and L. mexicana. This form of the disease attacks the oral and nasal cavities. Leishmania is usually transmitted from human to human by the vectors, but there are animal reservoirs in some areas, including dogs and rodents. There are regional variation in the form and severity of the infections. The risk of infection is particularly high in immunocompromised individuals, such as AIDS patients. Travelers and tourists, as well as military personnel, can acquire the infection in endemic areas.12 The life cycle for leishmaniasis is shown in Figure 18.4.
Liposomal Nanomedicines
Published in Vladimir Torchilin, Mansoor M Amiji, Handbook of Materials for Nanomedicine, 2011
Clinical applications of liposomes are multiple and well known (see some examples in the Table 8.1). Doxorubicin in polyethylene glycol(PEG)-coated liposomes was successfully used for the treatment of solid tumors in patients with breast carcinoma metastases with subsequent survival improvement.52–54 The same set of indications was targeted by the combination therapy involving liposomal doxorubicin and paclitax55 or Doxil/Caelyx (doxorubicin in PEG-liposomes) and carboplatin.56 Caelyx is also in a Phase II study for patients with squamous cell cancer of the head and neck.57 and ovarian cancer.58 Patient research showed the impressive effect of doxorubicin in PEG-liposomes against unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma,59 cutaneous T-cell lymphoma,60 and sarcoma.61 See also the recent or review on the successful use of Caelyx in the treatment of ovarian cancer in.62 The schematic structure of Doxil (long-circulating PEGylated doxorubicin-loaded liposomes) is presented in Fig. 8.3. Liposomal lurtotecan was found to be effective in patients with topotecan resistant ovarian cancer.63 Among other indications, one may notice the use of the liposomal amphotericin B for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis.64 and long-acting analgesia with liposomal bupivacaine in healthy volunteers.65
The potential impact of climate change on the seasonality of Phlebotomus neglectus, the vector of visceral leishmaniasis in the East Mediterranean region
Published in International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2021
Human leishmaniasis, which is caused by unicellular eukaryotic parasites, is a notable health problem in several countries of the Mediterranean region including France, Spain (Lachaud et al. 2013; Arce et al. 2013), but imported cases were observed in such north countries such as the Netherlands and Germany (Weitzel et al. 2005; Bart et al. 2013). Visceral leishmaniasis is also autochthonous disease in the Apennine Peninsula and many counties of Southeast Europe (Desjeux 1991; Maroli et al. 2008). Visceral leishmaniasis, or in another term, kala-azar, is thought to be the second most important parasitic human disease after malaria. It can be characterized by anaemia, irregular fever, swelling of the spleen and liver and weight loss (McGwire and Satoskar 2013). In untreated cases, the disease mortality is almost 100% within two years. For example, in the late 19th century Bengal, the case-fatality rate was more than 95% with a community-wide mortality rate of more than 25% during the outbreaks of the disease (Bern and Chowdhury 2006). In 2017, 94% of the new cases reported to WHO occurred in Brazil India and five East African countries. The worldwide number of lethal cases of visceral leishmaniasis is about 20,000 to 30,000 in a year; for example, in 2017, In 2017, 20 792 cases were reported (WHO Leishmaniasis 2017).