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Francesconi VA, Francesconi F, Ramasawmy R, Romero GAS, Alecrim MDGC. Failure of fluconazole in treating cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania guyanensis in the Brazilian Amazon: An open, nonrandomized phase 2 trial. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006225. [PMID: 29481560 PMCID: PMC5854414 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2017] [Revised: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The treatment of Leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis is based on a weak strength of evidence from very few clinical trials and some case series reports. Current treatment guidelines recommend pentamidine isethionate or meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime) as the first-line choices. Both are parenteral drugs with a low therapeutic indexes leading to a high risk of undesired effects. Imidazole derivatives interfere with the production of leishmanial ergosterol, an essential component of their membrane structure. One drug that has been studied in different clinical presentations of Leishmania is fluconazole, a hydrophilic bis-triazole, which is easily absorbed through the oral route with a low toxicity profile and is considered safe for children. This drug is readily available in poor countries with a reasonable cost making it a potential option for treating leishmaniasis. METHODS AND FINDINGS An adaptive nonrandomized clinical trial with sequential groups with dose escalation of oral fluconazole was designed to treat adult men with localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL) in Manaus, Brazil. Eligible participants were patients with LCL with confirmed Leishmania guyanensis infection. RESULTS Twenty adult male patients were treated with 450 mg of fluconazole daily for 30 days. One patient (5%) was cured within 30 days of treatment. Of the 19 failures (95%), 13 developed a worsening of ulcers and six evolved lymphatic spreading of the disease. Planned dose escalation was suspended after the disappointing failure rate during the first stage of the trial. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE Oral fluconazole, at the dose of 450mg per day, was not efficacious against LCL caused by Leishmania guyanensis in adult men. TRIAL REGISTRATION Brazilian Clinical Trial Registration (ReBec)-RBR-8w292w; UTN number-1158-2421.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeska Albuquerque Francesconi
- Department of Dermatology, Academic and Research Division at the Tropical Medicine Foundation - Dr Heitor Vieira Dourado, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Fabio Francesconi
- Department of Dermatology, Academic and Research Division at the Tropical Medicine Foundation - Dr Heitor Vieira Dourado, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Rajendranath Ramasawmy
- Department of Molecular Biology, Division of Immunogenetics, at the Tropical Medicine Foundation - Dr Heitor Vieira Dourado and Universidade Nilton Lins, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | | | - Maria das Graças Costa Alecrim
- Department of Infectology, Division of Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases at the Tropical Medicine Foundation - Dr Heitor Vieira Dourado, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
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Galvão EL, Rabello A, Cota GF. Efficacy of azole therapy for tegumentary leishmaniasis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0186117. [PMID: 29016694 PMCID: PMC5633178 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Several controlled and uncontrolled studies addressing azole antifungal drugs for cutaneous and mucosal leishmaniasis have been published with inconclusive results. We conducted a systematic literature review of studies evaluating the efficacy and toxicity associated with azole therapy for tegumentary leishmaniasis. Methodology PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews and the Cochrane manual were followed, and the review methodology was registered (PROSPERO; CRD42016048668). Sources included the EMBASE, Web of Science, MEDLINE, LILACS, and IBECS databases along with a manual search of references from evaluated studies. Additional resources such as Google Scholar and clinicaltrials.gov were also searched. We included all studies reporting cure rate after cutaneous or mucosal leishmaniasis treatment with systemic azole drugs, regardless of their design. R software was used to estimate global rates of success and adverse events with each drug. The main outcome of interest was clinical cure, defined as complete re-epithelialization of all lesions. Results A total of 37 studies involving 1259 patients that reported outcomes after fluconazole (9), ketoconazole (14) and itraconazole (15) treatments were included. Only 14 (38%) were randomized controlled trials (RCT). The pooled azole final efficacy rate was 64% (CI95%: 57–70%) for all studies and 60% (CI95%: 50–70%) (p = 0.41) if only RCTs studies were considered. Twenty-four studies were conducted in the Old World and 13 studies in the Americas. The final efficacy rate according to New and Old World were 62% (CI95%: 43–77%) and 66% (CI95%: 58–73%), respectively. The final efficacy rate of azoles according to species were 89% (CI95%: 50–98%) for L. mexicana; 88% for L. infantum (CI95%: 27–99%); 80% for L. donovani; 53% (CI95%: 29–76%) for L. major; 49% for L. braziliensis (CI95%: 21–78%); and 15% (CI95%: 1–84%) for L. tropica. The cure rates were similar among the fluconazole, ketoconazole and itraconazole group arms (p = 0.89), specifically 61% (CI95%: 48–72%), 64% (CI95%: 44–80%) 65% (CI95%: 56–72%), respectively. Adverse events during fluconazole, itraconazole and ketoconazole therapy were reported in 7% (CI95%: 3–14%), 12% (CI95% 8–19%) and 13% (CI95%: 6–29%) of treated patients, respectively, without difference among them (p = 0.35). This systematic review included studies with small samples and both non-comparative and non-randomized studies and the main limitation was the low quality of the available studies. Conclusions Available evidence suggests that fluconazole, ketoconazole and itraconazole have similar and modest efficacy rates for tegumentary leishmaniasis treatment. There is insufficient evidence to support the exclusive use of azole therapy as a single agent for leishmaniasis treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Endi Lanza Galvão
- Pesquisa Clínica e Políticas Públicas em Doenças Infecto-Parasitárias–Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou—Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- * E-mail:
| | - Ana Rabello
- Pesquisa Clínica e Políticas Públicas em Doenças Infecto-Parasitárias–Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou—Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Gláucia Fernandes Cota
- Pesquisa Clínica e Políticas Públicas em Doenças Infecto-Parasitárias–Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou—Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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Lepesheva GI, Hargrove TY, Rachakonda G, Wawrzak Z, Pomel S, Cojean S, Nde PN, Nes WD, Locuson CW, Calcutt MW, Waterman MR, Daniels JS, Loiseau PM, Villalta F. VFV as a New Effective CYP51 Structure-Derived Drug Candidate for Chagas Disease and Visceral Leishmaniasis. J Infect Dis 2015; 212:1439-48. [DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiv228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2014] [Accepted: 04/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Ramanathan R, Talaat KR, Fedorko DP, Mahanty S, Nash TE. A species-specific approach to the use of non-antimony treatments for cutaneous leishmaniasis. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2011; 84:109-17. [PMID: 21212212 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2011.10-0437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
We used a species-specific approach to treat 10 patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis diagnosed using polymerase chain reaction. Non-antimony treatments (oral miltefosine, ketoconazole, and liposomal amphotericin B) were chosen as an alternative to pentavalent antimony drugs based on likely or proven drug efficacy against the infecting species. Leishmania Viannia panamensis was diagnosed in three patients and treated successfully with oral ketoconazole. Miltefosine treatment cured two patients with L. infantum chagasi. A wide variety of Leishmania responded to liposomal amphotericin B administered for 5-7 days. Three patients with L. V. braziliensis, one patient with L. tropica, and two patients with L. infantum chagasi were treated successfully. One person with L. V. braziliensis healed slowly because of a resistant bacterial superinfection, and a second patient with L. infantum chagasi relapsed and was retreated with miltefosine. These drugs were reasonably well-tolerated. In this limited case series, alternative non-antimony-based regimens were convenient, safe, and effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roshan Ramanathan
- Clinical Parasitology Unit and Helminth Immunology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
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Arruda DC, D'Alexandri FL, Katzin AM, Uliana SRB. Antileishmanial activity of the terpene nerolidol. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2005; 49:1679-87. [PMID: 15855481 PMCID: PMC1087654 DOI: 10.1128/aac.49.5.1679-1687.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2004] [Revised: 10/26/2004] [Accepted: 01/10/2005] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The activity of nerolidol, a sesquiterpene used as a food-flavoring agent and currently under testing as a skin penetration enhancer for the transdermal delivery of therapeutic drugs, was evaluated against Leishmania species. Nerolidol inhibited the growth of Leishmania amazonensis, L. braziliensis, and L. chagasi promastigotes and L. amazonensis amastigotes with in vitro 50% inhibitory concentrations of 85, 74, 75, and 67 microM, respectively. The treatment of L. amazonensis-infected macrophages with 100 microM nerolidol resulted in 95% reduction in infection rates. Inhibition of isoprenoid biosynthesis, as shown by reduced incorporation of [2-(14)C]mevalonic acid (MVA) or [1-(14)C]acetic acid precursors into dolichol, ergosterol, and ubiquinone, was observed in nerolidol-treated promastigotes. This drug effect can be attributed to the blockage of an early step in the mevalonate pathway, since incorporation of the precursor [1(n)-(3)H]farnesyl pyrophosphate in polyisoprenoids is not inhibited by nerolidol. L. amazonensis-infected BALB/c mice were treated with intraperitoneal doses of 100 mg/kg/day for 12 days or topically with 5 or 10% ointments for 4 weeks. Significant reduction of lesion sizes in nerolidol treated mice was observed for both treatment routes. However, long-term follow up indicated that the disease was not cured in this highly susceptible animal model. Nonetheless, the in vitro activity of nerolidol against these parasites may prove a useful tool for the development of new drugs for the treatment of leishmaniasis. In addition, biosynthesis of dolichols with 11 and 12 isoprene units was identified in Leishmania, as described for other trypanosomatids and Apicomplexa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise C Arruda
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Professor Lineu Prestes, 1374, CEP 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Alrajhi AA, Ibrahim EA, De Vol EB, Khairat M, Faris RM, Maguire JH. Fluconazole for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major. N Engl J Med 2002; 346:891-5. [PMID: 11907288 DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa011882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 199] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Whereas certain oral antifungal azoles are well documented to have activity against leishmania, data on the efficacy of fluconazole for leishmaniasis are limited. We conducted a controlled trial in Saudi Arabia of fluconazole for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major. METHODS This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessed the efficacy of oral fluconazole, in a dose of 200 mg daily for six weeks, in the treatment of parasitologically confirmed cutaneous leishmaniasis. The primary outcome measure was the time to the complete healing of all lesions. RESULTS A total of 106 patients were assigned to receive fluconazole, and 103 patients were assigned to receive placebo. Follow-up data were available for 80 and 65 patients, respectively. At the three-month follow-up, healing of lesions was complete for 63 of the 80 patients in the fluconazole group (79 percent) and 22 of the 65 patients in the placebo group (34 percent; relative risk of complete healing, 2.33 [95 percent confidence interval, 1.63 to 3.33]). According to an intention-to-treat analysis, the rates of healing were 59 percent and 22 percent, respectively (relative risk, 2.76 [95 percent confidence interval, 1.84 to 4.12]). Sodium stibogluconate was offered to 11 patients in the fluconazole group who returned for follow-up (14 percent) and 33 of those in the placebo group (51 percent) in whom oral treatment was judged to have failed. According to a Kaplan-Meier analysis, the time to healing was shorter for the fluconazole group (median, 8.5 weeks, as compared with 11.2 weeks in the placebo group; P<0.001 by the log-rank test). Side effects were mild and similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS A six-week course of oral fluconazole is a safe and useful treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. major.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdulrahman A Alrajhi
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
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Simões-Mattos L, Teixeira MJ, Costa DC, Prata JRC, Bevilaqua CML, Sidrim JJC, Rocha MFG. Evaluation of terbinafine treatment in Leishmania chagasi-infected hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Vet Parasitol 2002; 103:207-16. [PMID: 11750114 DOI: 10.1016/s0304-4017(01)00595-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of terbinafine treatment in hamsters infected with Leishmania chagasi. Four of five groups of hamsters were infected with 3 x 10(7) L. chagasi promastigotes by the intracardiac route and submitted to different treatments of 30 days duration starting on the 30th day after inoculation. Group 1 was treated with 100mg/kg terbinafine PO, group 2 was treated with 80 mg/kg Glucantime IM, and group 3 was treated with a combination of the same dose of each drug by the same routes. Group 4 (control) received vehicle (Tween 80 [0.1%]+CMC[0.5%]+H(2)O [0.5 ml], PO). Spleen parasite burden and spleen relative weight were determined 3 days after the end of the treatment. The results were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test (P < 0.05). There was no difference between the infected untreated and terbinafine-treated groups in spleen parasite burden (15.81+/-15.81 vs. 13.00+/-12.94, respectively). Terbinafine plus Glucantime (6.11+/-5.90) and Glucantime alone (4.83+/-4.82) significantly reduced spleen parasite burden compared to the infected untreated group (15.81+/-15.81, P<0.01). There was a difference in the relative weight of the spleen between the naïve and the infected untreated groups (2.5+/-0.2 vs. 9.8+/-1.0, respectively) as well as between the naïve and terbinafine groups (2.5+/-0.2 vs. 10.0+/-1.4, respectively). Glucantime alone and Glucantime plus terbinafine (2.5+/-0.2 and 4.2+/-0.6) significantly reduced the weight of the spleen in comparison with the infected untreated group. Even so, the spleen parasite burden was directly related to spleen weight. Terbinafine alone at the dose and schedule used had no effect on spleen parasite burden or relative spleen weight of L. chagasi-infected hamsters.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Simões-Mattos
- Faculdade de Veterinária (FAVET), Universidade Estadual do Ceará (UECE), Av. Paranjana 1700, Campus do Itaperi, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
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Gangneux JP, Dullin M, Sulahian A, Garin YJ, Derouin F. Experimental evaluation of second-line oral treatments of visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1999; 43:172-4. [PMID: 9869587 PMCID: PMC89042 DOI: 10.1128/aac.43.1.172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In a murine model of Leishmania infantum visceral leishmaniasis, metronidazole, ketoconazole, fluconazole, itraconazole, and terbinafine were less effective than antimonial agents in reducing hepatic parasite load. Ketoconazole potentiated the effect of meglumine antimoniate reference therapy through its marked activity against spleen infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- J P Gangneux
- Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Faculté de Médecine Lariboisière-Saint-Louis, Paris, France.
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Abstract
The most extensive investigations of treatment of New World cutaneous leishmaniasis have been performed against L. panamensis disease in Colombia, and the relative value of regimens shown there may be instructive for disease from other areas. In Colombia, a 90-95% cure rate was achieved with three different drug regimens: The standard regimen of pentavalent antimony (20 mg/ kg/day for 20 days parenterally) A short course of pentamidine (3 mg/kg every other day for four injections intramuscularly The marketed combination of topical paromomycin (15%)-MBCl (12%) for 10 days, plus antimony (20 mg/kg/day parenterally) for 7 days. My view is that all these regimens could be chosen as first-line therapy for cutaneous disease in Colombia. The antimony regimen has the advantage of established use; the disadvantages are cost, requirement for injections each day for 20 days, and considerable morbidity in the last two weeks of therapy. The pentamidine regimen has the advantage of a short time course; the disadvantages are lack of experience with this new regimen and frequent, although moderate, morbidity. The combined topical-parenteral regimen has the advantage of requiring few and nontoxic injections; the primary disadvantage is that the regimen is novel and its efficacy has not been confirmed. It would be expected that cases of lesions in other areas caused by L. braziliensis complex would respond in a similar manner to these regimens. To date, however, only the efficacy of the standard antimonial regimen has been confirmed. In certain regions of Central America, other regimens may be effective. Thus, ketoconazole appears to be effective for the more rapidly self-curing forms of disease (cutaneous disease caused by L. mexicana and L. panamensis from Central America), and a short course of antimony may be effective against L. braziliensis in Guatemala.
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Affiliation(s)
- J D Berman
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307-5100, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- S Singh
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
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Sauvain M, Dedet JP, Kunesch N, Poisson J, Gantier JC, Gayral P, Kunesch G. In Vitro andIn Vivo leishmanicidal activities of natural and synthetic quinoids. Phytother Res 1993. [DOI: 10.1002/ptr.2650070215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Abstract
PURPOSE, PATIENTS, AND METHODS The classic agent for cutaneous leishmaniasis is pentavalent antimony. However, there are no reports of the efficacy of antimony versus placebo or of the efficacy of any alternative therapy versus either antimony or placebo. In the present report, the oral antifungal agent ketoconazole (600 mg/day for 28 days) was compared to a recommended regimen of intramuscular Pentostam (20 mg antimony/kg, with a maximum of 850 mg antimony/day, for 20 days) in a randomized study of the treatment of Panamanian cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania braziliensis panamensis. A separate group of patients with this disease was administered placebo. RESULTS Ketoconazole clinically cured 16 of 21 (76%) patients. The lesions on nine patients healed by 1 month after therapy, and the lesions healed by 3 months after therapy on the other seven patients. Side effects were limited to a 27% incidence of mild, reversible hepatocellular enzyme elevation and an asymptomatic, reversible, approximately 70% decrease in serum testosterone in all patients. Pentostam cured 13 of 19 (68%) patients; the lesions on seven patients healed by the end of therapy, and the lesions on four other patients healed by 1 month after the end of therapy. Side effects were a 47% incidence of mild, reversible hepatocellular enzyme elevation and the morbidity due to 20 intramuscular injections in almost all patients. The placebo group of 11 patients had a 0% cure rate. By 1 month after therapy, all placebo-treated patients demonstrated new lesions or one lesion that was 23% to 875% larger than before therapy. CONCLUSION Both ketoconazole and Pentostam were more effective than placebo against L. braziliensis panamensis cutaneous leishmaniasis. Oral ketoconazole is comparable in efficacy to this parenteral Pentostam regimen and can be recommended as initial treatment for this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- R E Saenz
- Gorgas Memorial Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama
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Dedet J, Japet P, Esterre P, Ghipponi P, Genin C, Lalande C, Gay F. Echec du kétoconazole dans le traitement de la leishmaniose cutanée à Leishmania braziliensis guyanensis en Guyane française. Med Mal Infect 1987. [DOI: 10.1016/s0399-077x(87)80132-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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