Treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Persian medicine

Dear Editor-in-Chief. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is considered an important public health problem in many countries. However, there are numerous drugs available for the treatment of CL, at present, first-line drugs including pentavalent antimonials exhibit for problems such as prolonged systemic therapy, high toxicity and less affectivity against various forms of the disease in patients. Moreover, second-line drugs also have limitations in their use because of the high cost, prolonged length of therapy and adverse reactions. For these reasons, development of new drugs or combination therapy for the treatment of CL is necessary (1). Persian Medicine (PM) can be used in conjunction with conventional medicine for treatment of the disease (2). PM consists of total of all the knowledge and practices used in diagnosis, prevention and elimination of diseases in Persia from ancient times to the present, based entirely on practical experience and observations passed down from generation to generation (3). According to PM, each one has a unique characteristic named their temperament or Mizaj, determined by physiological, morphological and psychological features. Everybody is considered in a healthy state when Mizaj has been balanced. When diseases occur, the Mizaj becomes imbalanced. From this viewpoint a package of certain measures are recommended for the treatment of diseases.