Dataset Information

Benznidazole and posaconazole in experimental Chagas disease: positive interaction in concomitant and sequential treatments.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Current chemotherapy for Chagas disease is unsatisfactory due to its limited efficacy, particularly in the chronic phase, with frequent side effects that can lead to treatment discontinuation. Combined therapy is envisioned as an ideal approach since it may improve treatment efficacy whilst decreasing toxicity and the likelihood of resistance development. We evaluated the efficacy of posaconazole in combination with benznidazole on Trypanosoma cruzi infection in vivo.

Methods and findings

Benznidazole and posaconazole were administered individually or in combination in an experimental acute murine infection model. Using a rapid treatment protocol for 7 days, the combined treatments were more efficacious in reducing parasitemia levels than the drugs given alone, with the effects most evident in combinations of sub-optimal doses of the drugs. Subsequently, the curative action of these drug combinations was investigated, using the same infection model and 25, 50, 75 or 100 mg/kg/day (mpk) of benznidazole in combination with 5, 10 or 20 mpk of posaconazole, given alone or concomitantly for 20 days. The effects of the combination treatments on parasitological cures were higher than the sum of such effects when the drugs were administered separately at the same doses, indicating synergistic activity. Finally, sequential therapy experiments were carried out with benznidazole or posaconazole over a short interval (10 days), followed by the second drug administered for the same period of time. It was found that the sequence of benznidazole (100 mpk) followed by posaconazole (20 mpk) provided cure rates comparable to those obtained with the full (20 days) treatments with either drug alone, and no cure was observed for the short treatments with drugs given alone.

Conclusions

Our data demonstrate the importance of investigating the potential beneficial effects of combination treatments with marketed compounds, and showed that combinations of benznidazole with posaconazole have a positive interaction in murine models of Chagas disease.

SUBMITTER: Diniz Lde F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3744424 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Benznidazole and posaconazole in experimental Chagas disease: positive interaction in concomitant and sequential treatments.

Diniz Lívia de Figueiredo Lde F Urbina Julio A JA de Andrade Isabel Mayer IM Mazzeti Ana Lia AL Martins Tassiane Assíria F TA Caldas Ivo Santana IS Talvani André A Ribeiro Isabela I Bahia Maria Terezinha MT

PLoS neglected tropical diseases 20130815 8

<h4>Background</h4>Current chemotherapy for Chagas disease is unsatisfactory due to its limited efficacy, particularly in the chronic phase, with frequent side effects that can lead to treatment discontinuation. Combined therapy is envisioned as an ideal approach since it may improve treatment efficacy whilst decreasing toxicity and the likelihood of resistance development. We evaluated the efficacy of posaconazole in combination with benznidazole on Trypanosoma cruzi infection in vivo.<h4>Metho ...[more]

PMID: 23967360

Similar Datasets

Project description:The aim of the present study was to build a population pharmacokinetic (popPK) model to characterize benznidazole (BNZ) pharmacokinetics in adults with chronic Chagas disease. This study was a prospective, open-label, single-center clinical trial approved by the local ethics committee. Patients received BNZ at 2.5 mg/kg of body weight/12 h (Abarax, Elea Laboratory, Argentina) for 60 days. Plasma BNZ samples were taken several times during the study and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV-visible detection (HPLC-UV). The popPK analysis was done with NONMEMv.7.3. Demographic and biological data were tested as covariates. Intraindividual, interoccasion, and residual variabilities were modeled. Internal and external validations were completed to assess the robustness of the model. Later on, simulations were performed to generate BNZ concentration-time course profiles for different dosage regimens. A total of 358 plasma BNZ concentrations from 39 patients were included in the analysis. A one-compartment PK model characterized by clearance (CL/F) and the apparent volume of distribution (V/F), with first-order absorption (Ka) and elimination, adequately described the data (CL/F, 1.73 liters/h; V/F, 89.6 liters; and Ka, 1.15 h(-1)). No covariates were found to be significant for CL/F and V/F. Internal and external validations of the final model showed adequate results. Data from simulations revealed that a dose of 2.5 mg/kg/12 h might lead to overexposure in most patients. A lower dose (2.5 mg/kg/24 h) was able to achieve trough BNZ plasma concentrations within the accepted therapeutic range of 3 to 6 mg/liter. In summary, we developed a population PK model for BNZ in adults with chronic Chagas disease. Dosing simulations showed that a BNZ dose of 2.5 mg/kg/24 h will adequately keep BNZ trough plasma concentrations within the recommended target range for the majority of patients. (This study has been registered at EudraCT under number 2011-002900-34 and at ClinicalTrials.gov under number NCT01755403.).

Dataset Information

Benznidazole and posaconazole in experimental Chagas disease: positive interaction in concomitant and sequential treatments.

Background

Methods and findings

Conclusions

Publications

Benznidazole and posaconazole in experimental Chagas disease: positive interaction in concomitant and sequential treatments.

Similar Datasets

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