Conventional treatments and non-PEGylated liposome encapsulated doxorubicin for visceral leishmaniasis: A scoping review

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as Kala-azar, is caused by Leishmania (L.) donovani complex, which includes L. donovani and L. infantum and is associated with a high death rate as compared to the cutaneous and subcutaneous form. Treatment of VL includes chemotherapeutic agents which are associated with some major hurdles like toxicities, parenteral administration, high cost, parasite resistance and stability. Hence, there is an urgent requirement to develop novel chemotherapeutic agents or repurposing of existing drugs against VL. Developing formulation of new chemical entity for the treatment of VL is laborious, time consuming and associated with huge financial burden. However, screening of existing chemotherapeutic agents is a good alternative to avail cost-effective treatment option for VL. Non-PEGylated liposome encapsulated doxorubicin (Myocet ®) is proposed as an alternative treatment option for VL in this review article. Here, we covered the fundamental aspects of VL, loophole associated with available current treatment strategies and non-PEGylated liposome encapsulated doxorubicin as a novel alternative formulation for treating VL, as this liposomal delivery system of doxorubicin might passively target the intra- cellular regions of macrophage.