Sustained-release hydrogels of ivermectin as alternative systems to improve the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis

The novel treatments based on tissue engineering, cell therapy and nanotechnology for cutaneous leishmaniasis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a global public health issue. Conventional treatments have substantial costs, side effects, and parasite resistance. Due to easy application and inexpensive cost, topical treatment is the optimal approach for CL. It could be used alone or with systemic treatments. Electrospun fibers as drug release systems in treating skin lesions have various advantages such as adjustable drug release rate, maintaining appropriate humidity and temperature, gas exchange, plasticity at the lesion site, similarity with the skin extracellular matrix (ECM) and drug delivery with high efficiency. Hydrogels are valuable scaffolds in the treatment of skin lesions. The important features of hydrogels include preserving unstable drugs from degradation, absorption of wound secretions, high biocompatibility, improving the re-epithelialization of the wound and preventing the formation of scars. One of the issues in local drug delivery systems for the skin is the low permeability of drugs in the skin. Polymeric scaffolds that are designed as microneedle patches can penetrate the skin and overcome this challenge. Also, drug delivery using nanocarriers increases the effectiveness of drugs in lower and more tolerable doses and reduces the toxicity of drugs. The application of cell therapy in the treatment of parasitic and infectious diseases has been widely investigated. The complexity of leishmaniasis treatment requires identifying new treatment options like cell therapy to overcome the disease. Topics investigated in this study include drug delivery systems based on tissue engineering scaffolds, nanotechnology and cell therapy-based studies to reduce the complications of CL.

Medical Applications of Hydrogels in Skin Infections: A Review

Skin infections are common diseases for which patients seek inpatient and outpatient medical care. Globally, an increasing number of people are affected by skin infections that could lead to physical and psychological damage. Skin infections always have a broad spectrum of clinical presentations that require physicians to make an aggressive and accurate diagnosis for prescribing the proper symptomatic antimicrobials. In most instances, the treatment for skin infections mainly includes oral or topical anti-infective drugs. However, some of the classical anti-infective drugs have limitations, such as poor water solubility, low bioavailability, and poor targeting efficiency, which can lead to poor efficacy, adverse effects, and drug resistance. Therefore, research priorities should focus on the development of more effective drug delivery systems with new materials. Hydrogels are a highly multifunctional class of medical materials with potential applications in dermatology. Several hydrogel dressings with anti-infective functions have been formulated and demonstrated to improve the efficacy and tolerance of oral or topical classical anti-infective drugs to a certain degree. In this study, the medical applications of hydrogels for the treatment of various skin infections are systematically reviewed to provide an important theoretical reference for future research studies on the treatment options for skin infections.

Ivermectin: recent approaches in the design of novel veterinary and human medicines

Ivermectin (IVM) is a drug widely used in veterinary and human medicine for the management of parasitic diseases. Its repositioning potential has been recently considered for the treatment of different diseases, such as cancer and viral infections. However, IVM faces some limitations to its formulations due to its low water solubility and bioavailability, along with reports of drug resistance. In this sense, novel technological approaches have been explored to optimize its formulations and/or to develop innovative medicines. Therefore, this review discusses the strategies proposed in the last decade to improve the safety and efficacy of IVM and to explore its novel therapeutic applications. Among these technologies, the use of micro/nano-drug delivery systems is the most used approach, followed by long-acting formulations. In general, the development of these novel formulations seems to run side by side in veterinary and human health, showing a shared interface between the two areas. Although the technologies proposed indicate a promising future in the development of innovative dosage forms containing IVM, its safety and therapeutic targets must be further evaluated. Overall, these approaches comprise tailoring drug delivery profiles, decreasing the risks of developing drug resistance, and supporting the application of IVM for reaching different therapeutic targets.