Novel Strategies and Pharmaceutical Agents for the Treatment of Leishmaniasis: A Review

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a major tropical disease. There is no effective vaccine against leishmaniasis and chemotherapy is still the most effective treatment for the disease. However, most of the common drugs have many disadvantages such as toxicity and high cost. Most important of all is the development of resistance against these drugs. Many studies have tried to provide new pharmaceutical agents and formulations in various ways to overcome these problems. In recent years, medical plants have been widely considered for leishmaniasis treatment. Besides, various drug delivery strategies have been studied for the treatment of leishmaniasis in order to increase activity and reduce the side effects of the drugs. Accordingly, nanotechnology will play an important role in the preparation of new pharmaceutical formulations. In this review, we focused on various therapeutic approaches for leishmaniasis.