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'Miltefosine' (INN, trade names 'Impavido' and 'Miltex') is an antiprotozoal drug. Originally developed as an antineoplastic, it is now registered and used by Zentaris GmbH in India, Colombia and Germany for the treatment of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis, and is undergoing clinical trials for this use in several other countries, such as Brazil Hospital de Doenças Tropicais testa droga contra calazar Márcia Cristina and Guatemala. Treatment of New World cutaneous leishmaniasis with miltefosine., Soto J, Berman J, , , Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 2006 It is currently the only effective oral treatment for leishmaniasis.
Recent animal studies suggest miltefosine may also be effective against ''Trypanosoma cruzi'', the parasite responsible for Chagas' disease, Proinflammatory and cytotoxic effects of hexadecylphosphocholine (miltefosine) against drug-resistant strains of Trypanosoma cruzi., Saraiva V, Gibaldi D, Previato J, Mendonça-Previato L, Bozza M, Freire-De-Lima C, Heise N, , , Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2002 and several pathogenic fungi, including ''Cryptococcus neoformans'', ''Candida'', ''Aspergillus'' and ''Fusarium''. Hexadecylphosphocholine (miltefosine) has broad-spectrum fungicidal activity and is efficacious in a mouse model of cryptococcosis., Widmer F, Wright L, Obando D, Handke R, Ganendren R, Ellis D, Sorrell T, , , Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2006
Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, a compound structurally similar to miltefosine, was recently found to exhibit potent ''in vitro'' activity against ''Plasmodium falciparum''. Inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum choline kinase by hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide: A possible antimalarial mechanism of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide., Choubey V, Maity P, Guha M, Kumar S, Shrivastava K, Puri SK, Bandyopadhyay U, , , Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2006

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Side effects

References

Side effects

The main side effects reported with miltefosine treatment are nausea and vomiting. Miltefosine has exhibited teratogenicity, and should not be administered to pregnant women.

References