RESUMO
Levamisole, an antihelminthic drug that is capable of enhancing immune responses in mice and in humans, was tested in experimental Mycobacterium leprae infections in mice by a number of schedules. Intermittent schedules were used, and administration of the drug was started (i) around the time of inoculation with M. leprae, (ii) when the M. leprae population was approaching the plateau level, (iii) after the onset of the plateau phase, or (iv) after BCG vaccination 28 days following the inoculation with M. leprae. No effect of drug could be discerned with any of the schedules.
Assuntos
Animais , Camundongos , Administração Oral , Hanseníase/imunologia , Injeções Subcutâneas , Levamisol/administração & dosagem , Levamisol/farmacologia , Mycobacterium leprae , Mycobacterium leprae/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Vacina BCGRESUMO
The Memorandum reviews the considerable progress that has been made in research on the chemotherapy of leprosy during the last 10-15 years, as a result of which it is now possible to study the same topics in leprosy as are studied in other bacterial diseases. Thus drugs have been screened in mice for their activity against Mycobacteerium leprae. Those that have been found to have the greatest activity against M. leprae at acceptable dosages-dapsone, rifampicin, and clofazimine-have been characterized in terms of the minimal effective dosage and rate of bacterial kill. Similarly, their pharmacokinetics in man and in certain animals have been defined. The theoretical basis for drug trials in leprosy patients is discussed in terms of the number of viable and the number of dead M.leprae that remain of various stages of therapy