by Thacker SG, McWilliams IL, Bonnet B, Halie L, Beaucage S, Rachuri S, Dey R, Duncan R, Modabber F, Robinson S, Bilbe G, Arana B, Verthelyi D. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2020, 14(2): e0008050. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008050
Summary: Treatment with antimonials is the first line of therapy for cutaneous leishmaniasis. Shorter or lower dose regimens, which would decrease the risk of adverse events, have shown reduced efficacy and increase the risk of resistance development. Studies have shown that the administration of immunomodulatory type D CpG ODNs magnifies the immune response to Leishmania and reduces lesion severity in nonhuman primates (NHP). The authors found that the addition of a single dose of immunomodulating CpG ODN D35 augments the efficacy of a short-course, low-dose pentavalent antimonial treatment regimen in NHPs. These findings support the efficacy of D35 as adjuvant therapy for shorter, low dose pentavalent antimonial treatment.
