Leishmaniasis: Pathophysiology, Diagnostics and Current and Emerging Therapeutic Approaches—2nd Edition
A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular and Translational Medicine".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 483
Special Issue Editor
Interests: leishmaniasis; epidemiology; pathophysiology; novel biomarkers; host–parasite interactions; diagnostic tools; therapeutic intervention
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Approximately 20 distinct Leishmania species are known to cause three primary forms of leishmaniasis—cutaneous, mucosal, and visceral—along with other serious forms of leishmaniasis, such as dermal-post-kala-azar, diffuse and disseminated leishmaniasis.
Today, more than 1 billion people worldwide are at risk of contracting this disease.
The differential diagnosis of numerous infections and other granulomatous and neoplastic diseases is vital. Currently, a universally accepted gold standard for diagnosis is still lacking, and physicians rely on epidemiological, clinical and laboratory-based criteria. Existing techniques involving smear and culture have low sensitivity, the widely applied serology method suffers from low specificity, and the intradermal skin test is no longer employed because it lacks standardization. While PCR has enhanced diagnostic sensitivity, it has limited applicability if the disease is prevalent.
Despite ongoing research, there is a great lack of knowledge regarding the pathophysiology of the disease. To date, the routes used by the parasite and the time it takes to spread from the primary lesion to other sites remain unknown.
Treatment remains the cornerstone of leishmaniasis control strategies; but to date, only three first-line drugs are available: antimony, amphotericin B and miltefosine. The drug of choice during treatment—antimony—was introduced into the therapeutic arsenal at the beginning of the last century. A lack of methodological standardization in clinical studies, a diminished therapeutic arsenal, drug toxicity and drug resistance are considered to be the major challenges hindering the progress of therapeutics.
We cordially invite submissions of basic and translational original research and review papers that address various aspects of leishmaniasis:
- New and innovative therapeutic interventions to treat;
- Novel diagnostic tools;
- Novel biomarkers for disease morbidity;
- Mechanism of pathophysiology, drug action and resistance.
Prof. Dr. Raimunda Nonata Ribeiro Sampaio
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- leishmaniasis
- pathophysiology
- neglected infectious diseases
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