Burri C, Blum J, Brun R
Swiss Tropical Institute, Basel.
Ann Soc Belg Med Trop. 1995 Mar;75(1):65-71.
The protocols for treatment of human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) with the organoarsenical drug melarsoprol are based on empirical observations. Therapy is often accompanied by serious side effects and relapses. Additionally, the duration of treatment, which is up to forty days, is a major drawback in African countries. Based on pharmacokinetic investigations an alternative therapy protocol for T. gambiense sleeping sickness has recently been proposed which consists of ten consecutive injections of 2.2 mg/kg melarsoprol given at intervals of 24 hours. In a preliminary study, eleven patients were treated in Vanga, Zaire following this alternative protocol which reduces the duration of the treatment to ten days. The results indicate that the alternative schedule was as effective as the traditional protocol, showed similar adverse reactions but required a much shorter treatment period.
使用有机砷药物美拉胂醇治疗人类非洲锥虫病（昏睡病）的方案是基于经验观察制定的。治疗常常伴有严重的副作用和复发情况。此外，长达40天的治疗疗程在非洲国家是一个主要缺陷。基于药代动力学研究，最近有人提出了一种针对冈比亚锥虫昏睡病的替代治疗方案，该方案包括连续10次注射2.2毫克/千克的美拉胂醇，注射间隔为24小时。在一项初步研究中，11名患者在扎伊尔的万加按照这种替代方案接受了治疗，该方案将治疗疗程缩短至10天。结果表明，替代方案与传统方案同样有效，不良反应相似，但所需的治疗期要短得多。
