Seeberger Josef, Daoud Saleh, Pammer Johannes
Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Damascus, Syria.
Int J Dermatol. 2003 Jul;42(7):576-9. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-4362.2003.01955.x.
Treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis can be painful and protracted and cosmetic results are often unsatisfying. The immune modulator imiquimod has been reported to be suitable for the treatment of a variety of infectious skin diseases and neoplasias.
We investigated the efficacy of topical application of imiquimod in the treatment of old world leishmaniasis in a placebo-controlled prospective study.
Twelve patients were treated with imiquimod cream using a standard protocol, i.e. topical application three times a week, and a further three served as control group.
Lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis regressed within the first 2-4 weeks in 10 of the 12 patients, whereas in two patients no change was observed. However, after 8 weeks all lesions showed progression.
Our results thus demonstrate that topical application of imiquimod alone is ineffective in treating old world cutaneous leishmaniasis. Further studies are required to demonstrate a possible benefit of imiquimod in combination with other, preferably orally administered medicines.
皮肤利什曼病的治疗可能会很痛苦且疗程漫长，而且美容效果往往不尽人意。据报道，免疫调节剂咪喹莫特适用于治疗多种传染性皮肤病和肿瘤。
我们在一项安慰剂对照的前瞻性研究中，调查了局部应用咪喹莫特治疗旧大陆利什曼病的疗效。
12名患者按照标准方案使用咪喹莫特乳膏治疗，即每周局部应用3次，另外3名患者作为对照组。
12名患者中有10名患者的皮肤利什曼病损在最初2 - 4周内消退，而2名患者未观察到变化。然而，8周后所有病损均出现进展。
因此，我们的结果表明，单独局部应用咪喹莫特治疗旧大陆皮肤利什曼病无效。需要进一步研究以证明咪喹莫特与其他药物（最好是口服药物）联合使用可能带来的益处。
