What is Pentostam used for?

What is Pentostam used for?

Sodium stibogluconate is a medication used to treat cutaneous, visceral, and mucosal leishmaniasis, a parasitic infection transmitted by sand-fly bites. It is also known by its chemical name antimony D-gluconic acid, and the brand name Pentostam®.

What is a pentavalent compound?

Pentavalent antimonials (also abbreviated pentavalent Sb or SbV) are a group of compounds used for the treatment of leishmaniasis. They are also called pentavalent antimony compounds.

What are Antimonial drugs?

Antimonials, in pre-modern medicine, were remedies principally containing antimony, used chiefly for emetic purposes. They might also have qualified for cathartic, diaphoretic, or simply alternative uses. Such treatments were considered unparalleled in their strength.

When was sodium stibogluconate first used to treat leishmaniasis?

The pentavalent antimonials, meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime) and sodium stibogluconate (Pentostam), have been used since the 1930s and are considered the front-line drugs of choice for all the clinical forms of leishmaniasis, although their mechanisms of action have remained essentially unknown.

What is antimonial lead?

Definition of antimonial lead : lead containing antimony specifically : a hard alloy of lead containing 4 to 10 percent antimony used for the framework of storage-battery plates and tank linings — compare grid metal, hard lead.

What causes Chiclero ulcer?

Known as “Chiclero’s ulcer” in southeast Mexico and Latin America, this unique presentation of cutaneous leishmaniasis is caused mainly by the L. mexicana complex.

What does sodium stibogluconate treat?

Sodium stibogluconate (SSG) is an Investigational New Drug (IND) product that has been in use by the Department of Defense (DoD) for over 20 years for the treatment of cutaneous, mucosal and visceral leishmaniasis.

What leishmaniasis means?

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that is found in parts of the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe. It is classified as a neglected tropical disease (NTD). Leishmaniasis is caused by infection with Leishmania parasites, which are spread by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies.

What is the active ingredient in Pentostam injection?

Pentostam injection contains the active ingredient sodium stibogluconate, which is an antimony compound used specifically in the treatment of a protozoal infection called leishmaniasis. Protozoa are tiny living organisms that can cause infection inside the body.

What kind of infections can Pentostam be used for?

Treatment of various types of a protozoal infection called leishmaniasis, which may result from sandfly bites in tropical and temperate parts of the world (eg Central and South America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Southern Europe). How does Pentostam work?

What kind of antimony is in Pentostam injection?

Pentostam injection contains the active ingredient sodium stibogluconate, which is an antimony compound used specifically in the treatment of a protozoal infection called leishmaniasis.

Are there any side effects to taking Pentostam?

Just because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect. Nausea and vomiting. Diarrhoea. Abdominal pain. General feeling of being unwell (malaise). Pain in the muscles or joints.