Cutaneous Leishmaniases forms

The flagellate leishmania is transmitted to humans by the bite of the female sandfly of the genus Phlebotomus. Three principal diseases result from infection with Leishmania spp. L. donovani causes visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) L. tropica and L. major produce cutaneous leishmaniasis, and L. braziliensis causes South American mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. In visceral leishmaniasis, the protozoan parasitizes the reticuloendothelial cells, and this results in an enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen the spleen can become massive. Cutaneous leishmaniasis remains localized to the site of inoculation, where it forms a raised disfiguring ulcerative lesion. South American leishmaniasis is variable in its presentation. It is characterized by ulceration of the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, and pharynx some disfiguring skin involvement also is possible. 

The potential therapeutic effect of berbamine (10, 25, and 50 pg/ml)(and thirteen other bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids) against the protozoan disease leishmaniasis was studied by biological assays on in vitro culture forms of three strains of Leishmania L. brasiliensis brasiliensis (cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis), L. mexicana amazonensis (cutaneous), and L. donovani (visceral leishmaniasis). Berbamine was found to inhibit the growth of all three types to differing degrees, but was not as active as daphnandrine, gyrocarpine, or obaberine [194]. 

In the adult, both the cutaneous and mucocutaneous forms of leishmaniasis [Leishmania braziliensis and L. mexicana) are treated with stibogluconate. An alternative drug for the visceral form is amphotericin B. 

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is characterized by one or more slowly healing superficial ulcers that may be painful. These lesions are liable to further infection and may remain as open sores or become hard, wartlike nodules. The form of cutaneous leishmaniasis referred to as New Wodd disease is caused by species of the Leishmania (Viannia) bra iliensis complex (L bra liensis, L gujanensis, L panamanesis, and L peruviana) and species of the Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana complex (L mexicana, L ama onensis, and L vene uelensis) in the western hemisphere. Old World disease (oriental sore, Delhi or Baghdad boil) is caused by Leishmania tropica and Leishmania major m. Asia, Africa, and southern Europe, and Leishmania aethiopica, restricted to eastern Africa. The incubation period for cutaneous leishmaniasis ranges from a few weeks to several months. Spontaneous cures can take place in a period ranging from one month to several years. 

Leishmania, parasitic protozoa transmitted by flesh-eating flies, cause various diseases ranging from cutaneous or mucocutaneous lesions to splenic and hepatic enlargement with fever. Soilium stibogluconate (pentavalent antimony), the primary drug in all forms of the disease, appears to kill the parasite by inhibition of glycolysis or effects on nucleic acid metabolism. Alternative agents include pentamidine (for visceral leishmaniasis), metronidazole (for cutaneous lesions), and amphotericin B (for mucocutaneous leishmaniasis). 

Leishmaniasis is caused by a trypanosome-like organism, Leishmania, which is conveyed to Man by female sandflies. The disease may take the form of a generalized visceral infection (kala-azar) or of a purely cutaneous infection... 

Leishmaniasis is a group of tropical diseases caused by a number of species of protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Leishmania. In humans, Leishntania spp. cause a variety of clinical diseases, and these have been used by the World Health Organization as the basis to classify leishmaniasis into four clinical forms visceral, mucocutaneous, cutaneous diffuse or disseminated, and cutaneous. Certain species of the parasite have been associated with the different clinical forms of the disease Leishmania donovani complex, for example, causes visceral leishmaniasis, while the Leishmania tropical complex is known to induce cutaneous and cutaneous diffuse leishmaniasis in several countries of Latin America. 

Visceral leishmaniasis is caused by a trypanosome-like protozoon transmitted by sandfly bites in China and India and the Eastern Mediterranean. With enlarged spleen and liver, the patient becomes increasingly listless and soon dies. A cutaneous form of the disease is caused by another species of Leishmania. Both forms, together affecting 12 million, respond to selectively toxic drugs. 

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