Problem statement: The upper airways has a great importance as a route of M. leprae infection and because of the possibility of identifying relevant tools by systematic patient evaluation, the detection of leprosy patients by means of salivary markers becomes important. The aim of this study was to analyze anti-phenolic glycolipid 1 (anti-PGL-1) salivary and serum titers as parameters for corre...

Leprosy continues to be prevalent in some mountainous regions of China, and genotypes of leprosy strains endemic to the country are not known. Mycobacterium lepromatosis is a new species that was discovered in Mexico in 2008, and it remains unclear whether this species exists in China. Here, we conducted PCR- restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis to classify genotypes of 85 D...

Editor, The importance of accurate histopathological assessment of type of leprosy with the help of skin biopsy is emphasized by the widespread poor performance of slit skin smears (SSS). Many workers have reported ®nding AFB more frequently in skin biopsies compared with slit skin smears in all types of leprosy. However, the presence of AFB in skin biopsy has been assigned no role in grading o...

Two major proteins from Mycobacterium bovis BCG culture filtrates with molecular masses of 28 kDa (P28) and 30 kDa (P30), identified as components of the BCG 85 complex, were purified and used in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the determination of specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels in patients with leprosy or tuberculosis or with exposure to these diseases. High reactivity ...

BACKGROUND Neuropathic pain has been little studied in leprosy. We assessed the prevalence and clinical characteristics of neuropathic pain and the validity of the Douleur Neuropathique 4 questionnaire as a screening tool for neuropathic pain in patients with treated leprosy. The association of neuropathic pain with psychological morbidity was also evaluated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Ad...

BACKGROUND Lepromatous leprosy caused by Mycobacterium leprae is associated with antigen specific T cell unresponsiveness/anergy whose underlying mechanisms are not fully defined. We investigated the role of CD25(+)FOXP3(+) regulatory T cells in both skin lesions and M.leprae stimulated PBMC cultures of 28 each of freshly diagnosed patients with borderline tuberculoid (BT) and lepromatous lepro...

OBJECTIVE To assess the profile and describe the clinical presentations, clinico-histopathological profile, complications and treatment compliance of childhood leprosy at a tertiary care hospital in north-east district of Delhi during 2000-2009. DESIGN A retrospective institutional study of children less than 14 years of age diagnosed with leprosy and registered in a leprosy clinic during 200...

BACKGROUND Leprosy is a rare but serious mycobacterial infection. Immigration from areas where the disease is endemic has resulted in the importation of leprosy into countries where it is not endemic and where physicians and health care workers have little or no experience in diagnosis and therapy. In this study we characterized leprosy patients seen in a tropical disease unit that manages most...

BACKGROUND Worldwide, leprosy is one of the major causes of preventable disability. India contributes to 60% of global leprosy burden. With increasing numbers of leprosy with grade 2 disability (visible disability) at diagnosis, we aimed to determine risk factors associated with grade 2 disability among new cases and explore patients and providers' perspectives into reasons for late presentatio...

Type-1 (T1R) and Type-2 (T2R) leprosy reactions (LR), which affect up to 50% of leprosy patients, are aggressive inflammatory episodes of sudden onset and highly variable incidence across populations. LR are often diagnosed concurrently with leprosy, but more frequently occur several months after treatment onset. It is not uncommon for leprosy patients to develop recurring reactional episodes; ...