Review
Immunology
Greta Volpedo, Thalia Pacheco-Fernandez, Erin A. Holcomb, Natalie Cipriano, Blake Cox, Abhay R. Satoskar
Summary: Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease affecting 12 million people worldwide. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common form, presenting as ulcerating skin lesions that can self-heal or become chronic. The balance of immune response and inflammatory mediators plays a vital role in the clinical presentation and outcome of the disease.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Awnish Kumar, Vishal Kumar Singh, Rahul Tiwari, Prasoon Madhukar, Shashi Kumar, Vibhav Gautam, Christian Engwerda, Shyam Sundar, Rajiv Kumar
Summary: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a severe and often fatal form of leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania donovani in the Indian sub-continent. Post Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a late cutaneous manifestation of VL, serving as a significant yet neglected reservoir of infection and posing a serious threat to the VL elimination program in India. Eradicating PKDL should be a priority within the current VL elimination program by understanding its pathogenesis and developing effective strategies for disease management.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Stella Rousset, Mathilde Zenou, Aurelie Saunier, Fanny Varenne, Vincent Soler, Emilie Tournier, Lea Legrand, Laurence Lachaud, Pierre Buffet, Antoine Berry, Pierre Delobel, Guillaume Martin-Blondel
Summary: This study reported cases of post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) in people living with HIV (PLHIV) and compared the characteristics of two groups based on whether PKDL occurred in the context of immune recovery under antiretroviral therapy (ART) or not. The study found that PKDL can occur as part of an immune restoration disease under ART or as a relapse of visceral leishmaniasis in the context of AIDS. Comparisons between the two groups showed that patients in the immune recovery group had higher CD4(+) cell counts, lower rates of concomitant visceral leishmaniasis, and a trend towards more frequent ocular involvement.
Article
Parasitology
Md Anik Ashfaq Khan, Khaledul Faisal, Rajashree Chowdhury, Rupen Nath, Prakash Ghosh, Debashis Ghosh, Faria Hossain, Ahmed Abd El Wahed, Dinesh Mondal
Summary: LD-RPA assay showed high sensitivity and positivity rate in detecting LD in sand flies from PKDL cases. It may be considered as a promising single molecular detection tool for investigations related to LD infections and host infectiousness in PKDL.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2021)
Article
Dermatology
Ritika Sengupta, Sneha Mitra, Aishwarya Dighal, Srija Moulik, Surya Jyati Chaudhuri, Nilay Kanti Das, Uttara Chatterjee, Mitali Chatterjee
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the factors contributing to the hypopigmentation in post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL). The results showed a decrease in melanocytes and key enzymes related to melanogenesis pathway in PKDL patients. Additionally, elevated levels of cytokines and chemokines, along with increased infiltration of CD8(+) T-cells, were observed in PKDL patients. These findings suggest that the hypopigmentation in PKDL is associated with the destruction of melanocytes and an enhanced pro-inflammatory immune milieu.
EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Keerti Kaumudee Dixit, V Ramesh, Shreya Upadhyay, Abhishek Kumar Singh, Om Prakash Singh, Shyam Sundar, Ruchi Singh, Poonam Salotra
Summary: The study found that using blood samples for PKDL diagnosis in India has the potential to increase diagnostic sensitivity for macular PKDL cases, aiding in fast-tracking VL elimination.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Begona Monge-Maillo, Francesca F. Norman, Sandra Chamorro-Tojeiro, Francesca Gioia, Jose-Antonio Perez-Molina, Carmen Chicharro, Javier Moreno, Rogelio Lopez-Velez
Summary: Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum in an HIV-negative patient is rare, and this case highlights its association with other types of immunosuppression. In addition, this case report presents an effective therapeutic option with miltefosine, which can be very useful due to limited reported experience.
JOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Ophthalmology
Rakhi Kusumesh, Anita Ambasta, Lalan Kumar Arya, Nilesh Mohan, Bibhuti Prassan Sinha, Vidyanand Ravidas
Summary: This study retrospectively analyzed 5 cases of PKDL patients who developed keratitis after receiving miltefosine treatment. All patients showed varying degrees of keratitis symptoms after 48 days of miltefosine treatment, with corticosteroid therapy and discontinuation of miltefosine effectively improving the keratitis condition.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Shyam Sundar, Jitendra Singh, Anju Dinkar, Neha Agrawal
Summary: This study assessed the safety and effectiveness of miltefosine for post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis. The cure rate was 76%, but a significant number of patients experienced ocular complications.
OPEN FORUM INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Abdollah Jafarzadeh, Sara Jafarzadeh, Iraj Sharifi, Najmeh Aminizadeh, Parvin Nozari, Maryam Nemati
Summary: Host immune responses play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Leishmania infection, with specific cytokines protecting against or promoting post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis. Understanding the cytokine network within lesions can offer insights for potential immunotherapeutic strategies in treating L. donovani-mediated PKDL.
Article
Dermatology
Piyush Kumar, Mitali Chatterjee, Nilay Kanti Das
Summary: Post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a mucocutaneous disease that occurs in apparently cured, inadequately treated, or untreated cases of visceral leishmaniasis. It presents with a variety of skin lesions, including hypopigmented patches, erythematous succulent papulo-plaques, and nodular lesions, and early diagnosis and treatment are essential to reduce disease transmission.
INDIAN JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Parasitology
Nibedeeta Rani Sarraf, Saikat Mukhopadhyay, Anindyajit Banerjee, Anjan Kumar Das, Syamal Roy, Saikat Chakrabarti, Madhumita Manna, Partha Saha
Summary: The study conducted whole genome sequencing of L. donovani strains from Indian patients, revealing unique genomic variations in 24 genes among para-KDL strains compared to other strains. These distinctive genomic changes among para-KDL strains could be significant for the parasites to become dermatotropic.
Article
Dermatology
Krishna Pandey, Biplab Pal, Niyamat Ali Siddiqui, Chandra Shekhar Lal, Vahab Ali, Sanjiva Bimal, Ashish Kumar, Neena Verma, Vidya Nand Rabi Das, Shubhankar Kumar Singh, Roshan Kamal Topno, Pradeep Das
Summary: This study compared the effectiveness of liposomal amphotericin B and miltefosine in post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis patients, finding that miltefosine had better efficacy with higher cure rates and lower relapse rates. Therefore, miltefosine should be continued as the first-line therapy for post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis.
INDIAN JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY VENEREOLOGY & LEPROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Dermatology
Srija Moulik, Ritika Sengupta, Manab Kumar Ghosh, Nilay Kanti Das, Bibhuti Saha, Mitali Chatterjee
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the response of different variants of post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) to liposomal amphotericin B (L-AMB). The results showed a significant decrease in parasite load in patients with polymorphic lesions, while the decrease was not as pronounced in patients with macular disease. There was also a higher infiltration of CD68+ macrophages in the tissue of polymorphic PKDL before therapy.
INDIAN JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY VENEREOLOGY & LEPROLOGY
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Rajesh Garlapati, Eva Iniguez, Tiago D. Serafim, Prabhas K. Mishra, Basab Rooj, Bikas Sinha, Jesus G. Valenzuela, Sridhar Srikantiah, Caryn Bern, Shaden Kamhawi
Summary: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a potentially deadly parasitic disease prevalent in the northern part of the Indian sub-continent. India, Bangladesh, and Nepal are working together to eliminate VL as a public health problem by 2020 through early detection, prompt treatment, and vector control measures. Despite being close to the elimination target, important aspects of vector biology and sand fly transmission dynamics still need to be determined to ensure sustained elimination.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)