[Leish-l] miltefosine for diffuse leishmaniasis

Sat Jul 9 12:06:58 BRT 2011

Dear friends,

This is really a such touching and motivated community, and leish-l is
proving to be an excellent tool for solving the leishmaniasis toughest
problems throughout the world. The word "together" sounds really powerful in
such a cases.

What os showing up from these kind emails is a face of science coming not
only from the bench, the hospitals, the field, but a science coming straight
from the heart.

Let me summarize some of the lessons and suggestions. Please correct me if I
skip some.

1) Hot bath - Teresina is very hot, and hot showers are rare here. However,
we can easily provide her an electric shower. Should it be a tube? How long
the bath would last?

2) BCG - one or two shots.  We will do it. Any hint about the intervals
between the shots?

3) Previous drug therapy: ImunoglucanTM (cell wall of *Saccharomyces
cerevisiae*), and saquinavir, after her delivery (Intracellular survival of
Leishmania species that cause visceral leishmaniasis is significantly
reduced by HIV-1 protease
inhibitors.<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18816190>
).

4) Besides miltefosine we got a good hint where to find it (Paladino,
Canada), which has excellent temporary effect (Zerpa et al, 2006), we should
consider:
a) lower/corrected doses of paramomycin (Bryceson) - we have also to find
the drug outside Brazil, since it is not distributed/approved here;
b) gamma-interferon (who produces/sells it?).
c) fluconazol/itraconazol/(voriconazol?).
d) amiodarone - *in vitro* testing does not sounds so good.
e) topic imiquimod  (IxiumTM cream) - apparently easy to find. concentration
of 5%?
f) photodynamic therapy - with Dr. Dagoberto Silveira, we are investigating
where to do it around.
g) immunotherapy with suicide photo-inactivated *Leishmania* (KP Chang).

Please check what really seems reasonable. My feeling is that most of the
suggestions can be tried.

My warmest regards,

Carlos.

2011/7/8 Pierre BUFFET <pierre.buffet at upmc.fr>

> Anthony,
>
>
> because there are only a few options left, would you consider at one point
> low dose pentamidine (3 mg/kg every week or so, as you did in DCL patinets
> in Ethiopia in the 70s if I remember)? Could be used either to stabilize the
> situation before starting on a coadministration, or as a maintenance after
> the co-administration, in both cases with careful monitoring of kidney
> function ?
>
> Pierre
>
>
>  Anthony Bryceson <a.bryceson at doctors.org.uk> a écrit :
>
>
>  Dear Carlos
>> As you are well aware DCL is very difficult to treat. The big problem is
>> that the defect in specific CMI is more profound than that in VL and may
>> never recover, in contrast with the defect in VL which bounces back quickly.
>>
>> To have any chance of curing the patient, treatment  should be monitored
>> by quantitative slit skin smears (as for splenic aspirates in VL) from
>> multiple pre-selected sites, every week or two weeks, and treatment
>> continued until negativity and for some weeks or months longer.  When slit
>> skin smears become negative, hunt for any nodular or infiltrated lesions and
>> take deep biopsies and look for amastigotes there. Keep on hunting and
>> smearing. Sometimes, at the end of all this, evidence of CMI may appear, and
>> cure becomes a possibility. I am sure that the method of treating is more
>> important than the choice of drug - so long of course that the parasite is
>> susceptible to the drug.
>>
>> Hannah Akuffo has sent you the abstract relating to 3 patients treated by
>> Sabawork Teklemariam in Addis Abeba. That article details this approach.
>>
>> Do you know the species of Leishmania causing Maria's DCL, and its
>> sensitivities? In Addis Abeba parasites were cultured from two of the
>> patients and sensitivities determined and isobolograms drawn to look for
>> synergy. The isolates were sensitive to paromomycin and sodium
>> stibogluconate was synergistic. It would be worth while to make cultures
>> before you start any new treatment and have the isolate tested in this way.
>> I expect that you have a lab that could do this; if not, Simon Croft might
>> be able to advise.
>>
>> Miltefosine has been very successful in a number of situations in South
>> American CL and showed promise for DCL,  but patients relapsed despite
>> prolonged treatment.
>> 1. Zerpa O, Ulrich M, Blanco B, et al. Diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis
>> responds to miltefosine but then relapses. Br J Dermatol.
>> 2007;156:1328-1335.
>>
>> In a few patients with VL-HIV confection whom I treated in London,
>> miltefosine worked well at first, but the patients relpased while still on
>> treatment and drug resistance was supected but not tested. Miltefosine has a
>> pharmacokinetic profile with a long tail that might make it susceptible to
>> the devlopment of resistance, especially if the therapeutic window for a
>> given isolate was narrow. So you might want to think about adding a second
>> drug to go with miltefosine from the beginning. I am not sure what might be
>> the best drug for combination; perhaps Josh Berman might have an opinion. It
>> is of course essential to ensure contraception.
>>
>> You could also consider the combination of paromomycin and low dose SSG.
>> In view of Maria's poor renal function you might need to modify the dose of
>> paromomycin and to monitor function.
>>
>> Robert Vinson is CEO of Paladin Labs, and would I am sure help you locate
>> miltefosine. <rvinson at paladin-labs.com>
>>
>> Richard Chin is CEO of One World Health,  and would, I am equally sure,
>> help you locate paromomycin, should you consider that path.
>> http://www.oneworldhealth.org/**contact-us<http://www.oneworldhealth.org/contact-us> Phone: +1 415-421-4700 Fax: +1 415-421-4747
>>
>> I wish you and Maria all the best in this venture.
>> Anthony
>>
>>
>> Dear Jennie
>> Immunotherapy proved rather disappointing in VL. It seems that the patient
>> needs a decent immune response in the first place to benefit from
>> immuno-boosting.
>> Sadly
>> Anthony
>>
>>
>> On 6 Jul 2011, at 20:04, Carlos Costa wrote:
>>
>>  Dear all,
>>>
>>> Maria Cleudimar has cutaneous diffuse leishmaniasis due to Leishmania
>>> amazonensis. She used to be a long time patient form Dr. Jackson Costa, in
>>> the countryside of Maranhão State, Brazil, since she was 10 years old, after
>>> a disease that started when she was just five. Now, she is under my and
>>> Dorcas care, at the age of 30, living in the city of Teresina.
>>>
>>> Her long time DCL does not respond to the treatment antimonium anymore.
>>> Although we still prescribe liposomal amphotericin B at very low dose
>>> (3mg/kg/once a week), her situation is deteriorating progressively, her
>>> renal function does not allow any additional dosing since creatinine is
>>> presently above 3mg/dL, and previous biopsy had shown tubular damage
>>> apparently secondary to the drug, without evidence of amyloidosis. We tried
>>> several combinations of different drugs, without success. Her situation
>>> worsened a lot during her recent pregnancy (the baby is eight months old
>>> now).
>>>
>>> Our hope now stands only in miltefosine, for oral chronic use, but the
>>> drug is not licensed or available in Brazil yet (to my knowledge).
>>>
>>> With her permission I attached some of her pictures, hoping to sensitize
>>> critical people in order to help me to get miltefosine and the permission
>>> for prescription in Brazil (or any other oral drug with promising efficacy,
>>> and without nephrotoxicity, if known). Moreover, we need to know about the
>>> dose adjustment for the renal impairment, and how long the drug could safely
>>> be used.
>>>
>>> One picture shows her face before treatment, and another after the
>>> pregnancy, with the baby. One shows the situation of her thighs, another the
>>> calf of the leg and the last one the infiltration of the palate.
>>>
>>> Hoping a little from friends, my kindest regards,
>>>
>>> Carlos.
>>>
>>> PS. Please understand that the pictures are allowed not for publication
>>> or public presentation. Cleudimar permission is restricted to this forum.
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Carlos H. N. Costa, MD, DSc.
>>> President
>>> Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
>>> (Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine)
>>> Instituto de Doenças Tropicais Natan Portella
>>> Universidade Federal do Piauí
>>> Rua Artur de Vasconcelos 151-Sul
>>> 64049-750 Teresina-PI
>>> Brazil
>>> Telephones: +55 86 3221-3413 (work); +55 86 8838-3303 (mobile).
>>>
>>> Aviso: As informações contidas nesta mensagem são CONFIDENCIAIS,
>>> protegidas pelo sigilo legal, por direitos autorais e destinadas
>>> exclusivamente à pessoa ou organização para a qual a mensagem foi destinada.
>>> Warning: This message is meant only for the intended recipient of the
>>> transmission.  It is forbidden any unauthorized use, alteration,
>>> reproduction and distribution. If you are not the correct recipient, please
>>> notify us immediately by return e-mail and delete this message from your
>>> system.
>>>
>>> <cleu antes grav 13jan09.jpg><cleu e nene.jpg><cleu santada
>>> recorte.jpg><cleu panturrilhas.jpg><cleu palato.jpg>___________________*
>>> *____________________________
>>> Leish-l mailing list
>>> Leish-l at lineu.icb.usp.br
>>> http://lineu.icb.usp.br/cgi-**bin/mailman/listinfo/leish-l<http://lineu.icb.usp.br/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/leish-l>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>

-- 
*Carlos H. N. Costa, MD, DSc.*
*President*
*Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical *
***(Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine)*
*Instituto de Doenças Tropicais Natan Portella
Universidade Federal do Piauí*
*Rua Artur de Vasconcelos 151-Sul*
*64049-750 Teresina-PI
Brazil
Telephones: +55 86 3221-3413 (work); +55 86 8838-3303 (mobile).
*
Aviso: As informações contidas nesta mensagem são CONFIDENCIAIS, protegidas
pelo sigilo legal, por direitos autorais e destinadas exclusivamente à
pessoa ou organização para a qual a mensagem foi destinada.
Warning: This message is meant only for the intended recipient of the
transmission.  It is forbidden any unauthorized use, alteration,
reproduction and distribution. If you are not the correct recipient, please
notify us immediately by return e-mail and delete this message from your
system.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lineu.icb.usp.br/pipermail/leish-l/attachments/20110709/146b9b9b/attachment-0001.htm>