Leishmania braziliensis ssp. in the nasal mucosa of guinea pigs inoculated in the tarsi

Two lots of 20 young male guinea pigs were inoculated subcutaneously in the tarsi with 10 (elevated to fourth potency) amastigotes of Leishmania braziliensis or L. b. guyanensis to study the susceptibility of this Neotropical hystricomorph rodent the autochthonous parasites. Almost 50% of the animals showed lesions in the inoculation site and had parazitations that were infective to hamsters, as shown by inoculating homogenates of the dermal lesion, of the spleen, of the liver, and of the nasal mucosa into hamsters at 20, 40, 60 and 120 days after inoculation of the guinea pig. Smears of the above organs showed the presence of amastigotes. Parasites inoculated into the tarsi were detected early in the skin, spleen, and liver of the guinea pig host. Blood cultures made by cardiopuncture on sacrifice of the guinea pigs were uniformly negative. The nasal mucosa of nearly all animals positive in the skin or viscera was invaded early by the parasites, although with grater frequency between 60 and 120 days post-inoculation. The use of this model for the study of mucocutaneous parasitism by L. brasiliensis is discussed, together with the phenomena of parasitism at a distance from the inoculation site, the temperature of the body regions affected, and the possible genetic influence on susceptibility of the guinea pig to L. brasiliensis

Efectividad del NysoralR (ketoconazol) para el tratamiento de las leishmaniasis cutánea y cutáneomucosa en Trujillo, Venezuela / Efficacy of NysoralR (ketoconazole) for treatment of cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis in Trujillo, Venezuela

Ketoconazol (NysoralR) a dosis bucal diaria de 400 mg, en dos porciones, ha sido eficaz para el tratamiento de 38 casos urbanos de leishmaniasis cutánea, de cinco recaídas después de tratamiento con GlucantimeR y de un caso mucosocutáneo infantil complicado con una candidiasis bucal. Todos los pacientes fueron diagnosticados parasitológicamente, los hombres requirieron una media de 80 dosis (80 días) y 70 dosis (70 días) las mujeres. 97,4% de los pacientes requirió menos de tres meses de tratamiento. La administración prolongada de NysoralR durante 90 días fue bien tolerada, observándose un ligero aumento absoluto de las transaminasas glutámico-pirúvicas, sugiriendo ello una discreta hepatoxicidad