Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the Dorsal Skin of Hamsters: a Useful Model for the Screening of Antileishmanial Drugs
11:36

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the Dorsal Skin of Hamsters: a Useful Model for the Screening of Antileishmanial Drugs

Published on: April 21, 2012

Designing and reporting clinical trials on treatments for cutaneous leishmaniasis

Urbà González1, Mariona Pinart, Ludovic Reveiz

  • 1Department of Dermatology, Research Unit for Evidence-Based Dermatology, Hospital Plató, Barcelona, Spain. urba.gonzalez@hospitalplato.com

Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
|July 14, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Methodological weaknesses in clinical trials for cutaneous leishmaniasis (a parasitic skin disease) hinder the identification of effective treatments. Improved trial design and reporting are crucial for advancing parasitic disease research.

Area of Science:

  • Parasitology
  • Dermatology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a neglected, serious parasitic skin disease prevalent in developing nations.
  • Existing treatments lack clear evidence of efficacy due to trial quality issues.

Framework:

  • Assessed design and reporting of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) within Cochrane reviews on cutaneous leishmaniasis.
  • Identified significant methodological weaknesses impacting evidence reliability.

Implementation:

  • Key weaknesses include inadequate randomization, participant attrition, unspecified Leishmania species, and inconsistent outcome measures/follow-up.
  • These issues introduce potential bias, complicating the assessment of treatment effectiveness.

Implications:

  • Proposed guidelines for conducting high-quality clinical trials to develop effective cutaneous leishmaniasis therapies.
  • Recommendations aim to improve research interpretation, replication, and global health strategies for this neglected disease.

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