Therapy of human African trypanosomiasis: Current situation

This paper is a review of the current situation of the treatment of human A frican trypanosomiasis. The existing approved drugs are old, toxic and/or e xpensive. Therapeutic failures are common. Several factors may contribute t o the problems of chemotherapy, including differences in the epidemiology o f the disease, difficulties in the diagnosis and staging of the infection, availability distribution and pharmacologic properties of drugs, standardiz ation of treatment regimens, response to therapy follow-tcp period and rela pses and clinical trials. The new therapeutic approaches include the develo pment and approval of new drugs, the use of new therapeutic regimens, the s tudy of drug combinations, and the development of new formulations.