Drug-containing hydrophobic dressings as a topical experimental therapy for cutaneous leishmaniasis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), a clinical condition caused mainly by Leishmania amazonensis in Brazil, is characterized by topical, painless ulcers. The current treatment, based on intravenous administration of pentavalent antimonials, presents low adherence by patients and may cause serious adverse effects, leading to the need for searching new therapeutic options. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating a topical administration of "intelligent dressings" as an alternative treatment for CL. BALB/c mice were infected with L. amazonensis promastigotes. Afterward, lesions were treated with hydrophobic dressings incorporated with clinically used drugs. After lesion development, the following analyses were carried out: measurement of lesion diameters, biochemical analyses of serum, evaluation of the recovery of amastigote forms and histological analyses. No significant clinical changes in serum parameters were observed. The group that was treated with dressings impregnated with Glucantime^® displayed the lowest number of amastigotes recovered from tissues (parasite load). Conventional treatment with Glucantime^® (i.p.) was also able to reduce parasite load. After 6 weeks from the measurement of the lesions mice treated with dressings impregnated with Pentamidine displayed the smallest values. Representative histological aspects of the lesions showed the absence or few amastigotes inside the macrophages when mice were treated with dressings impregnated with Glucantime^® and Pentamidine, respectively. The findings presented here indicate that the topical treatments may constitute an alternative treatment option for CL.