IMMUNOLOGY AND TREATMENT OF THE LEISHMANIASES

Recent progress in the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis includes pa rticulate formulations of amphotericin B, which are highly effective, and immunotherapy with interferon-gamma. Cutaneous leishmaniasis respo nds better to intravenous pentamidine than previously realized, and to pical treatment with paromycin may be effective in the Americas as wel l as in the Middle East. The immunological basis for susceptibility an d resistance to leishmaniasis is still being characterized in the muri ne model, providing insight into human disease and the development of immunogenic peptides with adjuvant cytokines for vaccines.