Pentavalent antimony, the generally accepted treatment for leishmaniasis, is given parenterally, and it is expensive and not readily available In developing countries. An inexpensive, orally administered compound would be a substantial advance in treatment. Previous studies in vitro have shown synergism between allopurinol and pentavalent antimony in tissue-culture systems. We designed this clinical study to determine whether synergism could be demonstrated In patients.
