Immunomodulatory treatment with thalidomide in experimental leptospirosis in Golden Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).

Background: The benefit of antibiotics in leptospirosis is limited when treatment is started four days after symptoms appear, and new adjuvant therapeutic options are urgently needed.

Methods: Hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) were infected by Leptospira interrogans strain L1-130, and groups were assigned based on no treatment (NONE), thalidomide only (TAL), ampicillin only (AMP) or both (AMP-TAL). Treatment was started two days after the onset of symptoms (experiment 1) and immediately after detection of the first death (experiment 2).