Photodynamic therapy for leishmaniasis: recent advances and future trends

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2021Author
Varzandeh, MohammadMohammadinejad, Reza
Esmaeilzadeh-Salestani, Keyvan
Dehshahri, Ali
Zarrabi, Ali
Aghaei-Afshar, Abbas
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Varzandeh, M., Mohammadinejad, R., Esmaeilzadeh-Salestani, K., Dehshahri, A., Zarrabi, A., & Aghaei-Afshar, A. (2021). Photodynamic therapy for leishmaniasis: recent advances and future trends. Photodiagnosis and photodynamic therapy, 102609. Advance online publication.Abstract
Leishmaniasis has infected more than 12 million people worldwide. The neglected tropical disease causing 20,000-30,000 deaths per year determined as a global health problem. The emergence of resistant parasites and serious side effects of the conventional therapies has led to the search for less toxic and non-invasive alternative treatments. Photodynamic therapy is a promising therapeutic strategy to produce reactive oxygen species for the treatment of leishmaniasis. In this regard, natural and synthetic photosensitizers such as curcumin, hypericin, 5-aminolevulinic acid, phthalocyanines, phenothiazines, porphyrins, chlorins and nanoparticles have been applied. In this review, the recent advances on using photodynamic therapy for treating Leishmania species have been reviewed.