(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A single session of heat therapy using a new method of delivery appears to be as effective as a 10-day intravenous course of sodium stibogluconate (Pentostam) for the treatment of Leishmania major skin lesions caused by a parasitic skin infection.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic to Iraq and Afghanistan, and more than 1,300 American military and civilian personnel have developed the parasitic skin infection since operations in these countries commenced. Until recently, infected personnel had to be evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) for sodium stibogluconate treatment under an investigational drug protocol.

In a new study, Naomi Aronson and colleagues at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and WRAMC tested the efficacy of the ThermoMed device, a potential tool for on-site treatment.

In a randomized treatment trial, 56 military personnel who contracted L. major while serving in Iraq received either a single session with the ThermoMed device or a daily intravenous infusion of sodium stibogluconate, a pentavalent antimony drug, over a period of 10 days. They were checked at two-, six-, and 12-month intervals to assess the healing process. Both treatments resulted in comparable rates of healing. The number and severity of side effects were greater with sodium stibogluconate treatment, but these resolved over time without long-term effect.

Aronson and colleagues suggest that a rugged, battery-operated device such as the ThermoMed, which could be forward-deployed in the field to effectively treat L. major skin lesions, is not just operationally significant for the military, but may offer non-governmental agencies another method of treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis.

SOURCE: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, March 5, 2010