Objective To evaluate epidemiological indicators and clinical profile of leprosy patients in Dhaka city. Methods In this cross-sectional observational study 722 new leprosy patients registered in six different clinics of The Leprosy Mission International – Bangladesh, Dhaka program over two and half years (January 2011 to June 2013) were included. Demographic details and clinical characteristic...

Despite the success of multidrug therapy in reducing the number of registered leprosy cases worldwide, evidence suggests that Mycobacterium leprae continues to be transmitted. A serological diagnostic test capable of identifying and allowing treatment of early-stage disease could reduce transmission and prevent the onset of the disability, a common complication of the disease in later stages. S...

In leprosy, lepromatous form of the disease is more severe and results from suppression of T cell response. T regulatory cells which suppress T cell response has been found in higher frequency in blood and at the site of infection in leprosy. Therefore, present study was carried out to evaluate the role of Mycobacterium leprae antigens whole cell sonicate (WCS) and especially phenolic glycolipi...

We investigated the role of IL-18 in leprosy, a disease characterized by polar cytokine responses that correlate with clinical disease. In vivo, IL-18 mRNA expression was higher in lesions from resistant tuberculoid as compared with susceptible lepromatous patients, and, in vitro, monocytes produced IL-18 in response to Mycobacterium leprae. rIL-18 augmented M. leprae-induced IFN-gamma in tuber...

The macrophage seems to have a major role in the pathogenesis of many chronic inflammatory disea­ ses. Its different morphologic aspects seen in many lesions led to assume that these cells have different functions too. The isolation of macrophages from tis­ sue lesions has been a difficult step hindering the re­ searches about their biological functions at the site of injury. In leprosy, the co...

The riminophenazine deriva tive B.663, first synthesized by Barry et. aZ. (~), was shown by Browne and Hogerzeil in 1962, (5. G) to be effective in the treatment of lepromatous leprosy. This finding has been confirmed by a number of centers (1. 8. ] O. ]3 , 18) . In particular, at the Leprosy Hesearch Unit, Sungei Buloh Leprosarium, considerable experience has been gained in the use of B.663 in...

We have examined the capacity of monocytes from patients with leprosy to undergo activation and the capacity of mononuclear cells from these patients to incorporate [3H]thymidine and produce monocyte-activating cytokines. Monocytes from patients with either lepromatous or tuberculoid leprosy were activated by concanavalin A (Con A)-induced mononuclear cell supernatants generated from the leukoc...

Antigen and mitogen-induced gamma interferon (gamma-IFN) production was studied in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 34 leprosy patients. 17 of 18 lepromatous leprosy and borderline lepromatous patients (LL and BL) failed to release gamma-IFN in response to specific antigen (Mycobacterium leprae) and displayed reduced responses to mitogen (concanavalin A) stimulation. In contrast, cells f...