Investigation of the susceptibility of Brazilian isolates of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum to miltefosine

• Grant number: 17/18488-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2018
• End date: December 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Adriano Cappellazzo Coelho
• Grantee: Bianca Alves Ferreira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum syn. L. (L.) chagasi. Visceral leishmaniasis is the most severe clinical form of leishmaniasis that can lead to death if it is not treated. In Brazil, about 3,000 new cases of the disease are reported annually, with an increasing number of cases in urban and peri-urban areas. The treatment of leishmaniasis in Brazil consists basically in the use of pentavalent antimonials, amphotericin B and pentamidine, drugs that are considered expensive, toxic and that require parenteral administration. This project aims to evaluate the susceptibility to miltefosine in vitro of isolates of L. (L.) infantum from dogs of the municipality of Embu-Guaçu and from patients of the Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas. In Brazil, miltefosine has not yet been approved for the clinical treatment of visceral leishmaniasis, although this drug has already been demonstrated as highly effective against visceral leishmaniasis in Asia. The results obtained in this study will contribute to the evaluation of the potential as well as the limitations of the use of miltefosine in the chemotherapy of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil. (AU)