Miltefosine

Miltefosine, sold under the trade name Impavido among others, is a medication mainly used to treat <a href="/facts/Leishmaniasis/L5v8Thy1">leishmaniasis</a> and free-living <a href="/facts/Amoeba_infections/VdNpYVKC">amoeba infections</a> such as <a href="/facts/Naegleria_fowleri/Mv4KVfbb">Naegleria fowleri</a> and <a href="/facts/Balamuthia_mandrillaris/9U83RU8f">Balamuthia mandrillaris</a>. This includes the three forms of leishmaniasis: <a href="/facts/Cutaneous_leishmaniasis/xYoDBt9c">cutaneous</a>, <a href="/facts/Visceral_leishmaniasis/bu6ne799">visceral</a> and mucosal. It may be used with <a href="/facts/Liposomal_amphotericin_B/c2H3NmRQ">liposomal amphotericin B</a> or <a href="/facts/Paromomycin/tjcsmFpE">paromomycin</a>. It is taken by mouth.
Common side effects include <a href="/facts/Vomiting/R2vQkHqV">vomiting</a>, abdominal pain, <a href="/facts/Fever/waVxR2Ac">fever</a>, <a href="/facts/Headaches/mdmmC9DP">headaches</a>, and decreased kidney function. More severe side effects may include <a href="/facts/Stevens%E2%80%93Johnson_syndrome/Lx6k5dmJ">Stevens–Johnson syndrome</a> or <a href="/facts/Thrombocytopenia/qMy4o0Rz">low blood platelets</a>. Use during <a href="/facts/Pregnancy/vEKYGpep">pregnancy</a> appears to cause harm to the baby and use during <a href="/facts/Breastfeeding/cdWXyYDX">breastfeeding</a> is not recommended. How it works is not entirely clear.
Miltefosine was first made in the early 1980s and studied as a treatment for <a href="/facts/Cancer/PVW6n1D0">cancer</a>. A few years later it was found to be useful for leishmaniasis and was approved for this use in 2002 in India. It is on the <a href="/facts/WHO_Model_List_of_Essential_Medicines/6kmu81Xm">World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines</a>.

Miltefosine open-in-new

Miltefosine