Comment on: Effect of antiretroviral protease inhibitors alone, and in combination with paromomycin, on the excystation, invasion and in vitro development of Cryptosporidium parvum

Geoffrey A. Dugue*

Romark Laboratories, L.C., 6200 Courtney Campbell Causeway, Suite 880, Tampa, FL 33607, USA

Keywords: cryptosporidiosis, nitazoxanide

Sir,

I would like to comment on the paper by Hommer et al.,1 to correct an erroneous statement in the portion of the Introduction meant to justify the need for this work. After quoting a 7-year-old study and a 6-year-old reference book, the article states quite flatly that no effective treatment for cryptosporidiosis is currently available. In fact, multiple studies,26 both open-label and double-blind placebo-controlled, have been published showing the efficacy of nitazoxanide, both in immune-competent and immune-suppressed populations. It has been approved and marketed, as Alinia, for several years now in Central and South America and has been approved by the US FDA for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis in children.

Footnotes

* Tel: +1-813-282-8544; Fax: +1-813-282-4910; E-mail: geoffrey.dugue{at}romark.com Back

References

1 . Hommer, V., Eichholz, J. & Petry, F. (2003). Effect of antiretroviral protease inhibitors alone, and in combination with paromomycin, on the excystation, invasion and in vitro development of Cryptosporidium parvum. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 52, 359–64.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

2 . Doumbo, O., Rossignol, J. F., Pichard, E. et al. (1997). Nitazoxanide in the treatment of cryptosporidial diarrhea and other intestinal parasitic infections associated with acquired immune deficiency syndrome in tropical Africa. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 56, 637–9.[ISI][Medline]

3 . Rossignol, J. F., Hidalgo, H., Feregrino, M. et al. (1998). A double-blind placebo-controlled study of nitazoxanide in the treatment of cryptosporidial diarrhoea in AIDS patients in Mexico. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygeine 92, 663–6.

4 . Abdel-Maboud, A. I., Rossignol, J. F., Mostafa, M. S. et al. (2000). Cryptosporidiosis in Benha, study of some recent modalities in diagnosis and treatment. Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology 30, 717–25.[Medline]

5 . Rossignol, J.-F. A., Ayoub, A. & Ayers, M. S. (2001). Treatment of diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of nitazoxanide. Journal of Infectious Diseases 184, 103–6.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]

6 . Amadi, B., Mwiya, M., Musuku, J. et al. (2002). Effect of nitazoxanide on morbidity and mortality in Zambian children with cryptosporidiosis: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 360, 1375–80.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]





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