Its exact mechanism is not known, but in vitro it inhibits translocation.1
It was at one-time, but is no longer distributed by the Center for Disease Control on a compassionate use basis as an investigational drug for the treatment of metronidazole-resistant amoebiasis.2
Some examples of the use of dehydroemetine in the treatment of amoebic infections include:
A 2020 in-vitro study found dehydroemetine to be effective in malaria.7
A 1980 report described the use of dehydroemetine in treatment of herpes zoster, a condition which can produce painful neurological symptoms. The study involved 40 patients, all of whom were over 60, and compared dehydroemetine treatment to another drug. The study reported patients treated with dehydroemetine experienced relief of neuralgia with no changes in cardiovascular functions.8
Dehydroemetine has been investigated as a treatment for Leishmania infection.9
Abdi YA (1995). Handbook of drugs for tropical parasitic infections. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis. p. 47. ISBN 0-7484-0168-7. 0-7484-0168-7 ↩
"Center for Disease Control NCID Formulary". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived from the original on 9 February 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20060209095558/https://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/srp/drugs/formulary.html ↩
Magaña-García M, Arista-Viveros A (December 1993). "Cutaneous amebiasis in children". Pediatric Dermatology. 10 (4): 352–355. doi:10.1111/j.1525-1470.1993.tb00397.x. PMID 8302738. S2CID 41438097. /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩
Chun CH, Park PW, Lee OJ, Pak SY. "Amoebic Comparative Double Blind Trials of Tiberal Compared with Metronidazole and Oral Dehydroemetine in Oligosymptomatie Amoebiasis". Korean Medical Database. 6 (1). The Korean Society of Infectious Diseases & Korean Society for Chemotherapy: 97–104. Retrieved November 9, 2015. http://journal.icjournal.org/articles/view.php?code=ava&year=1974&vol=6&no=1&page=97 ↩
Peters M, Dietrich M, Bienzle U, Kern P, Mannweiler E (December 1979). "Amoebic liver abscess: a retrospective clinical evaluation of twenty-seven cases". Tropenmedizin und Parasitologie. 30 (4): 409–416. PMID 538815. /wiki/PMID_(identifier) ↩
Chintana T, Sucharit P, Mahakittikun V, Siripanth C, Suphadtanaphongs W (December 1986). "In vitro studies on the sensitivity of local Entamoeba histolytica to anti-amoebic drugs". The Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. 17 (4): 591–594. PMID 2883732. /wiki/PMID_(identifier) ↩
Panwar P, Burusco KK, Abubaker M, Matthews H, Gutnov A, Fernández-Álvaro E, et al. (March 2020). "Lead Optimization of Dehydroemetine for Repositioned Use in Malaria". Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 64 (4). e01444-19. doi:10.1128/AAC.01444-19. PMC 7179302. PMID 31964796. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7179302 ↩
Hernandez-Perez E (April 1980). "Dehydroemetine therapy for herpes zoster. A comparison with corticosteroids". Cutis. 25 (4): 424–426. PMID 6102504. /wiki/PMID_(identifier) ↩
Al-Khateeb GH, Al-Jeboori TI, Al-Janabi KA (1977). "In vitro efficacy of some drugs on promastigotes of Leishmania donovani". Chemotherapy. 23 (4): 267–275. doi:10.1159/000221994. PMID 16732. /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩