Chemotherapy of Experimental Leishmania enriettii Infection

Conclusions

There is a parallelism between the chemotherapeutic results observed by us(5) in the cutaneous L. brasiliensis infection of mice, and those obtained in the cutaneous guinea pig (L. enriettii) leishmaniasis.

According to results so far obtained, cutaneous infection of the guinea pig with L. enriettii has the drug sensitivity of cutaneous L. brasiliensis infection, which is not affected by Pentostam, tartar emetic and hydroxy-stilbamidine. Glucantime treatment gave prompt therapeutic results. It is likely that the higher effect of Glucantime depends on its great tolerance and on the large amounts of pentavalent antimonials which can be given in this form. The L. enriettii infection, not contagious for man, represents under these conditions a useful method of searching for new therapeutic agents effective against the human form of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Both these cutaneous infections have a different drug sensitivity than L. donovani; whether this difference depends on the specific drug sensitivity of the infective organisms, or on particular conditions connected with the cutaneous localization of the infections, remains to be determined. In this respect, it is known that post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis is insensitive to stilbamidine type drugs, which are highly effective in the corresponding systemic infection.