ABSTRACT
Levamisole, an anthelmintic agent with a wide range of immunomodulatory actions, has been used successfully as monotherapy and an adjunct to treatment in a variety of diseases. Since 1990, combination therapy of levamisole and fluorouracil has played an important role in the treatment of resected Dukes stage C adenocarcinoma of the colon. Because of its immunomodulating effects levamisole has been used in a wide range of diseases with and without success. In dermatologic disease levamisole has been successfully used in the treatment of parasitic, viral and bacterial infections including leprosy, collagen vascular diseases, inflammatory skin diseases and children with impaired immune a variety of reasons. It has also been used in combination with other drugs for treating a number of dermatologic disorders, e.g. in combination with cimetidine for treating recalcitrant warts, with prednisolone for treating lichen planus, erythema multiforme and aphthous ulcers of the mouth. Adverse affects of levamisole are mild and infrequent and include rash, nausea, abdominal cramps, taste alteration, alopecia, arthralgia, and a flu-like syndrome. It can rarely cause agranulocytosis. More studies need to be undertaken to study the full potential of levamisole in dermatologic diseases.
Subject(s)
Adjuvants, Immunologic/therapeutic use , Levamisole/therapeutic use , Skin Diseases/drug therapy , Adjuvants, Immunologic/administration & dosage , Humans , Levamisole/administration & dosage , Randomized Controlled Trials as TopicABSTRACT
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.
Subject(s)
Levamisole/pharmacology , Mycobacterium leprae/drug effects , Administration, Oral , Animals , BCG Vaccine , Injections, Subcutaneous , Leprosy/immunology , Levamisole/administration & dosage , Mice , Mycobacterium leprae/growth & developmentABSTRACT
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.
Subject(s)
Animals , Mice , Administration, Oral , Leprosy/immunology , Injections, Subcutaneous , Levamisole/administration & dosage , Levamisole/pharmacology , Mycobacterium leprae , Mycobacterium leprae/growth & development , BCG VaccineABSTRACT
In a study of 37 leprosy patients, the oral administration of levamisole failed to provoke an increase in both the Fernandez and Mitsuda reactions to lepromins of human and armadillo origin. We interpret this as evidence against an effective specific immunostimulatory capability of levamisole in leprosy patients under the conditions of the study. Current knowledge of the mechanism of levamisole action supports the concept that the fundamental immunologic defect in lepromatosus leprosy may reside in the lymphocyte and not the macrophage, or the respective related functions of these two cell forms.
Subject(s)
Immunity, Cellular/drug effects , Lepromin/immunology , Levamisole/pharmacology , Adult , Aged , Animals , Armadillos , Humans , Leprosy/immunology , Levamisole/administration & dosage , Lymphocytes/immunology , Mice , Middle Aged , Mycobacterium leprae/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
In a study of 37 leprosy patients, the oral administration of levamisole failed to provoke an increase in both the Fernandez and Mitsuda reactions to lepromins of human and armadillo origin. We interpret this as evidence against an effective specific immunostimulatory capability of levamisole in leprosy patients under the conditions of the study. Current knowledge of the mechanism of levamisole action supports the concept that the fundamental immunologic defect in lepromatosus leprosy may reside in the lymphocyte and not the macrophage, or the respective related functions of these two cell forms.