The effect of 5-epi-icetexone on Leishmania amazonensis. In vitro and in vivo approach

SOSA MIGUEL; LOZANO ESTEBAN; CIFUENTE DIEGO; CARGNELUTTI DIEGO; GERMANÓ MARÍA JOSÉ

Congreso; FLAP XXIV Congreso Latinoamericano de Parasitología; 2017

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by flagellated parasites of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by phlebotomine sandflies. These parasites exhibit a heteroxenous life cycle, alternating between intracellular amastigotes in the mammalian cells and flagellate promastigotes in the vector. Leishmaniasis is distributed worldwide and affects about 12 million people worldwide, 2 million of new cases occur annually and 350 million people are at risk of contracting leishmaniasis. The clinical forms of the disease depend on the species of Leishmania involved and include cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. In Argentina, this parasitosis affects the northern region of the country with an incidence that has increased over the last two decades. Current drugs used to treat leishmaniasis include pentavalent antimonials, pentamidine, and amphotericin B, which induce serious toxic effects on patients. Parasite resistance to these drugs has also been described