Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : August 17, 2021 2:31 PM IST
Most cases of VL occur in Brazil, East Africa and in India.
Although Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, affects millions annually, making it the second most common parasitic killer after malaria, this tropical disease remains neglected. The conventional treatment of Visceral Leishmaniasis mainly involves painful intravenous administration, which is associated with many complications such as prolonged hospitalisation, high cost, and high risk of infection. This will be a thing of the past, thanks to Indian researchers who have developed a non-invasive, easy to administer, cost-effective and patient compliant potential therapeutic strategy against the neglected tropical disease.
The Department of Science & Technology (DST) on Monday released a statement to announce this achievement. The new therapeutic strategy is based on nano-carrier-based oral drugs coated with Vitamin B12 that enhanced oral bioavailability and efficacy of the therapy by more than 90 per cent, the DST said.
While oral drug delivery has many advantages over intravenous administration, there are other challenges with oral routes as more than 90 per cent of orally administered therapeutic drugs have less than 2 per cent bioavailability and potentially high hepatic and renal toxic side-effects.
A team led by Shyam Lal from the Institute of Nano-Science and Technology (INST), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, has found a solution to overcome these barriers. They have developed a smart and intelligent nano-carrier utilising the natural intrinsic Vitamin B12 pathway present in human body that can mitigate stability challenges and drug-associated toxicity.
The team has disguised the toxic but highly efficient drug of the disease within a biocompatible lipid nano-carrier, shielding it from degradation in the hostile gastric environment, thus overcoming the gastrointestinal enzymatic barriers endured by any foreign synthetic drug molecule, the DST release said.
This minimised its side effects, while the natural intrinsic Vitamin B12 pathway enhanced the oral bioavailability and anti-Leishmanial therapeutic efficacy by more than 90 per cent, as shown in the associated animal studies, it added.
The research was supported under the DST-SERB Early Career Research Award and published in Materials Science and Engineering C'.
Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites which are transmitted by the bite of infected female phlebotomine sandflies.
There are three main forms of leishmaniases visceral (also known as kala-azar, it is the most serious form of the disease), cutaneous (the most common one), and mucocutaneous.
Leishmaniasis is associated with malnutrition, population displacement, poor housing, a weak immune system, and environmental changes such as deforestation, building of dams, irrigation schemes and urbanization.
According to the WHO, an estimated 700 000 to 1 million new cases of Leishmaniasis occur worldwide annually, with Visceral leishmaniasis or kala-azar accounting for 50 000 to 90 000 cases.
If left untreated, kala-azar is fatal in over 95% of cases. The disease is characterized by irregular bouts of fever, weight loss, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and anaemia. Most cases of VL occur in Brazil, East Africa and in India.
Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is usually a sequel of visceral leishmaniasis that appears as macular, papular or nodular rash usually on face, upper arms, trunks and other parts of the body. It usually appears 6 months to 1 or more years after kala-azar has apparently been cured, but can occur earlier. People with PKDL are considered a potential source of Leishmania infection.
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