Single-Dose Oral Treatment for Sleeping Sickness Shows Promise

Acoziborole showed high efficacy against African trypanosomiasis, had an acceptable safety profile, and could eliminate the need for lumbar puncture to stage infection.

Management of suspected late-stage human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense has traditionally required hospitalization and lumbar puncture to assess stage of infection and choice of treatment. In a prospective, multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase 2/3 study, investigators assessed safety and efficacy of acoziborole, an oral benzoxaborole-6-carboxamide, in patients aged ≥15 years with gambiense HAT. Eligible participants (mean age, 34; 56% male; 167 with late-stage gambiense HAT, 41 with early- or intermediate-stage disease) received a single oral 960-mg dose (fasting) followed by 15 days of in-hospital observation and 18 months of outpatient follow-up.

At 18 months, treatment was successful in 95% of t…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Single-Dose Oral Treatment for Sleeping Sickness Shows Promise

Topics

Reviewing Author