Effects of itraconazole and terbinafine on Leishmania major lesions in BALB/c mice

The effects of two antifungal compounds, the azole itraconazole and the allylamine terbinafine, on Leishmania major infections in mice are reported. Sixty BALB/c mice were each inoculated subcutaneously with metacyclic promastigotes of L. major at the base of the tail. From 4 weeks post-inoculation, 40 of the mice were treated for 4 weeks (20 with itraconazole and 20 with terbinafine) and the rest were left untreated. Lesion sizes were estimated weekly for 10 weeks post-infection. Both drugs appeared effective in treating the cutaneous lesions but response to itraconazole was faster and, at the end of the experiment, the mean size of the lesions on the mice treated with itraconazole was smaller than that of the lesions on the terbinafine-treated mice.