Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| lightcycler real-time pcr for rapid detection and quantitation of mycobacterium leprae in skin specimens. | diagnosis of leprosy is usually based on clinical features and skin smear results including the number of skin lesions. mycobacterium leprae is not cultivable and bacterial enumeration by microscopic examination is required for leprosy classification, choice in choosing and monitoring chemotherapy regimens, and diagnosis of relapse. however, detection and quantification using standard microscopy yields results of limited specificity and sensitivity. we describe an extremely sensitive and specifi ... | 2008 | 18783434 |
| antigen-specific t-cell responses of leprosy patients. | the identification of human t-cell antigens of mycobacterium leprae could improve treatment and help to disrupt the transmission of leprosy by directing diagnosis and vaccine programs. this study screened a panel of m. leprae recombinant proteins for t-cell recall responses, measured by gamma interferon (ifn-gamma) production, among leprosy patients. after initial studies using peripheral blood mononuclear cells from leprosy patients, we transitioned our studies to simple whole-blood assays (wba ... | 2008 | 18784342 |
| diagnosing multibacillary leprosy: a comparative evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of slit-skin smear, bacterial index of granuloma and who operational classification. | in view of the relatively poor performance of skin smears who adopted a purely clinical operational classification, however the poor specificity of operational classification leads to overdiagnosis and unwarranted overtreatment while the poor sensitivity leads to underdiagnosis of multibacillary (mb) cases with inadequate treatment. bacilli are more frequently and abundantly demonstrated in tissue sections. | 2008 | 18797050 |
| does nerve examination improve diagnostic efficacy of the who classification of leprosy? | in the year 1998 who proposed that the clinical criteria of counting skin lesions alone should decide whether a patient receives multibacillary (mb) or paucibacillary (pb) mdt. there is a concern that a significant number of patients may be incorrectly treated under these guidelines. | 2008 | 18797051 |
| contact with armadillos increases the risk of leprosy in brazil: a case control study. | mycobacterium leprae infection has recently been detected in wild armadillos in brazil. leprosy is still endemic in brazil and although its transmission is mostly by person-to-person contact, many cases report no history of previously known leprosy contact. it has been suggested that other sources of m. leprae may contribute to the transmission of leprosy in some areas. aim: our objective was to investigate whether contact with armadillos is associated with leprosy. | 2008 | 18797053 |
| [drug resistance of multibacillary leprosy patients in japan--results of molecular genetic analyses]. | gene mutation of mycobacterium leprae was studied on bacilli-positive multibacillary leprosy patients since 2000 in japan. subjects: ll 31 cases, bl 7 cases. results: gene mutation of folp was found in 19/36 cases (52.8%), that of rpob in 13/33 cases (39.4%), that of gyra in 6/31 cases (16.8%). five cases showed both mutations of folp and rpob, and one case showed those of fol/p and gyra. mutations of folp, rpob andgyra all were found in 4/36 cases (10.3%). high incidence of resistance to dds or ... | 2008 | 18800639 |
| [history for animal model of hansen's disease and characteristics of leprosy in hypertensive nude rat]. | the long search of an animal model for leprosy were carried out as many researchers since the mycobacterium leprae discovery by dr. hansen in 1874. the remarkable results were left after the development of the foot-pad method by dr. shepard in 1960. the introduction of the t-r mouse and athymic (nude) mouse for leprosy research, alsospontaneity examples of hansen's disease was reported to armadillo, chimpanzee and mangabay monkey, and it was confirmed that hansen's disease was the zoonosis. alth ... | 2008 | 18800640 |
| towards understanding the pathology of erythema nodosum leprosum. | erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) is an immune-mediated complication of leprosy presenting with inflammatory skin nodules and involvement of multiple organ systems, often running a protracted course. immune complex production and deposition as well as complement activation have long been regarded as the principal aetiology of enl. however, new data show that cell-mediated immunity is also important. we have performed a critical analysis of studies on the pathology of enl. our main findings are as ... | 2008 | 18313706 |
| transmission of leprosy: a study of skin and nasal secretions of household contacts of leprosy patients using pcr. | it is generally held that dissemination of mycobacterium leprae is from nasal mucosa and not through the skin of infected patients. in this study, we evaluated m. leprae in the unbroken skin and nasal secretions of multibacillary (mb) leprosy patients and their contacts. specimens were examined by direct microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (pcr) for m. leprae dna. results showed that 60% of untreated mb leprosy patients examined histologically had acid-fast bacilli in the keratin layer. by ... | 2008 | 18337353 |
| visualization of pseudogenes in intracellular bacteria reveals the different tracks to gene destruction. | pseudogenes reveal ancestral gene functions. some obligate intracellular bacteria, such as mycobacterium leprae and rickettsia spp., carry substantial fractions of pseudogenes. until recently, horizontal gene transfers were considered to be rare events in obligate host-associated bacteria. | 2008 | 18302730 |
| alteration of the relative levels of inkt cell subsets is associated with chronic mycobacterial infections. | cd1d-restricted invariant natural killer t cells (inkt cells) have been identified as an important type of effector and regulatory t cell, but their roles in the chronic infectious diseases caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae remain poorly defined. here, we studied circulating human inkt cells in blood samples from tuberculosis (tb) and leprosy patients. we found that the percentages of inkt cells among total circulating t cells in tb and leprosy patients were not signi ... | 2008 | 18308638 |
| scavenging of reactive nitrogen species by mycobacterial truncated hemoglobins. | tuberculosis and leprosy are among the most challenging infectious threats to human health. the ability of mycobacteria to persist in vivo in the presence of reactive nitrogen and oxygen species implies the presence in these bacteria of effective detoxification (pseudoenzymatic) systems. mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae truncated hemoglobins (trhbs) belonging to group i (or n; trhbn) and group ii (or o; trhbo) have recently been implicated in the scavenging of nitrogen monoxid ... | 2008 | 18237641 |
| leprosy as a genetic model for susceptibility to common infectious diseases. | leprosy (hansen's disease) is a human infectious disease that can be effectively treated with long-term administration of multi-drug therapy. in 2006, over 250,000 new cases were reported to the world health organization. in the nineteenth century, disagreement among leprologists regarding the hereditary or infectious nature of leprosy was resolved with the identification of the etiological agent, mycobacterium leprae. however, epidemiological studies maintain the importance of host genetics in ... | 2008 | 18247059 |
| in vitro polymerization of mycobacterium leprae ftsz or mycobacterium tuberculosis ftsz is revived or abolished, respectively, by reciprocal mutation of a single residue. | a single residue that dramatically influences polymerization of principal cell division protein ftsz of mycobacterium leprae (mlftsz) and mycobacterium tuberculosis (mtftsz) has been identified. soluble, recombinant mlftsz did not show polymerization in vitro, in contrast to mtftsz, which polymerised. mutation of the lone non-conserved residue t172 in the n-terminal domain of mlftsz to a172, as it exists in mtftsz, showed dramatic polymerization of mlftsz-t172a in vitro. reciprocal mutation of a ... | 2008 | 18249190 |
| clinical, immunological and histological aspects of an uncommon type ii reaction in patients with lepromatous leprosy. | this study reports three cases of an unusual leprotic reaction characterized by superficial bullous ulcerative cutaneous lesions associated with high fever, malaise and oedema in patients with leprosy. two patients responded to thalidomide treatment, with regression of the symptoms and skin ulcers. the third patient responded to thalidomide plus prednisone. analysis of the ulcerated skin lesions showed dermal oedema with mononuclear cell infiltrate enriched for gammadelta-positive t lymphocytes ... | 2008 | 18261142 |
| treatment gets better, but leprosy remains a global problem. | 2008 | 18265889 | |
| molecular origin of endemic leprosy in new york city. | we report an indigenous case of leprosy in new york city in an immunocompetent patient who was infected with a mycobacterium leprae genotype that is consistent with an exogenous origin. physicians in the eastern united states should be alerted that, although most patients who develop leprosy in the united states are foreign born, native-born americans are also susceptible to the infection. | 2008 | 18269333 |
| leprosy reversal reaction as immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in patients with aids. | we report 2 instances in which reactional borderline leprosy manifested itself as an immune reconstitution phenomenon in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. we discuss the clinical, laboratory-based, histopathologic, and immunohistochemical characteristics of both patients. furthermore, we review similar reports from the literature. | 2008 | 18269334 |
| [hansen's disease: case report and review of literature]. | leprosy is a granulomatous disease affecting the skin and peripheral nerves caused by mycobacterium leprae. the range of clinical forms varying from tuberculoid to lepromatous leprosy results from variations in the cellular immune response to the mycobacterium. despite available combined drug-therapy, it continues to be a significant public health problem, carrying a strong stigma. although recently there has been no native cases in chile, a few imported cases have been diagnosed. we present a 5 ... | 2008 | 18273528 |
| association of leprosy with hla-drb1 in an argentinean population. | previous studies have suggested an influence of hla molecules on the regulation of the anti mycobacterium leprae immune response. | 2008 | 18275683 |
| comparison of ifn-gamma responses to mycobacterial antigens as markers of response to bcg vaccination. | an increase in interferon-gamma (ifn-gamma) production to mycobacterium tuberculosis purified protein derivative (mtb ppd), as measured in the cultured diluted whole blood assay, is one indicator of a protective immune response to bcg vaccine. we have explored the potential for this assay to be improved by measuring ifn-gamma responses to more defined antigens of m. tuberculosis (short-term and mid-term culture filtrates, esat-6, 38 kda), mycobacterium bovis (mpb70), m. bovis bcg (antigen 85) an ... | 2008 | 18277396 |
| immune cellular parameters of leprosy and human immunodeficiency virus-1 co-infected subjects. | leprosy and human immunodeficiency virus-1 (hiv-1) are examples of human infections where interactions between the pathogen and the host cellular immunity determine the clinical manifestations of disease. hence, a significant immunopathological interaction between hiv-1 and leprosy might be expected. in the present study we explored several aspects of cellular immunity in patients co-infected with hiv-1 and mycobacterium leprae. twenty-eight individuals were studied, comprising four groups: heal ... | 2008 | 18284466 |
| accuracy of an interferon-gamma release assay to detect active pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. | to examine the performance of an interferon-gamma (ifn-gamma) release assay (quantiferon-tb 2g assay [qft-g]) to detect mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in a japanese general hospital, for the diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis (ptb) and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (eptb). | 2008 | 18284831 |
| risk and protective factors for leprosy development determined by epidemiological surveillance of household contacts. | household contacts of leprosy patients are the group with the highest risk of developing the disease, and although many risk or prevention factors have been identified, they have not been employed in leprosy-monitoring programs. this investigation aimed to establish the relative risks or the preventive effects of the presence of bcg vaccination, the mitsuda test, and the ml-flow assay. household contacts (1,396) were monitored for a 5-year period. twenty-eight contacts (2%) developed leprosy and ... | 2008 | 17989339 |
| performance of a lateral flow test for the detection of leprosy patients in india. | 2008 | 18065681 | |
| are all the dna gyrase mutations found in mycobacterium leprae clinical strains involved in resistance to fluoroquinolones? | mycobacterium leprae dna gyrases carrying various mutations, previously described in clinical strains, were investigated for quinolone susceptibility by inhibition of supercoiling and dna cleavage promotion. we demonstrated that the gyra mutations leading to g89c or a91v confer fluoroquinolone resistance whereas the gyrb mutation leading to d205n does not. | 2008 | 18070975 |
| a quantitative and morphometric study of tryptase-positive mast cells in cutaneous leprosy lesions. | while mast cells are known to induce differences in the matrix structures, microvascular patterns, and immune responses in a number of diseases, the possible role of mast cells in these same processes over the spectrum of leprosy has not yet been investigated. thus, ascertaining the possible influence of mast cells in the outcome of the anti-leprosy response to mycobacterium leprae is of major importance. in this study, 51 cutaneous biopsies of leprosy patients were stained with anti-tryptase an ... | 2008 | 18082641 |
| ligand-binding prediction for erbb2, a key molecule in the pathogenesis of leprosy. | mycobacterium leprae is an obligate intracellular pathogen. ligand-binding is an important factor in the success of chemoprevention and chemotherapy. a new drug that can inhibit m. leprae binding to and activation of, erbb2 and erk1/2 in primary schwann cells is the new therapeutic option. however, the ligand-binding pattern of erbb2 has never been clarified. | 2008 | 18187820 |
| rational combination of peptides derived from different mycobacterium leprae proteins improves sensitivity for immunodiagnosis of m. leprae infection. | the stable incidence of new leprosy cases suggests that transmission of infection is continuing despite the worldwide implementation of multidrug therapy programs. highly specific tools are required to accurately diagnose asymptomatic and early stage mycobacterium leprae infections which are the likely sources of transmission and cannot be identified by using the detection of antibodies against phenolic glycolipid i. one of the hurdles hampering t-cell-based diagnostic tests is that m. leprae an ... | 2008 | 18199740 |
| development and evaluation of a novel multiple-primer pcr amplification refractory mutation system for the rapid detection of mutations conferring rifampicin resistance in codon 425 of the rpob gene of mycobacterium leprae. | rifampicin-resistant mycobacterium leprae is regularly reported and drug resistance is a major threat for the elimination of leprosy. there is an urgent need for a simple method that can detect rifampicin resistance in clinical isolates. this study developed a multiple-primer pcr amplification refractory mutation system, a simple, reliable and economical method for clinical specimens that allowed the rapid detection of mutations in the nucleotides of the codon for ser425 of the m. leprae rpob ge ... | 2008 | 18201983 |
| a dna vaccine against tuberculosis based on the 65 kda heat-shock protein differentially activates human macrophages and dendritic cells. | a number of reports have demonstrated that rodents immunized with dna vaccines can produce antibodies and cellular immune responses presenting a long-lasting protective immunity. these findings have attracted considerable interest in the field of dna vaccination. we have previously described the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of a dna vaccine encoding the mycobacterium leprae 65 kda heat shock protein (dna-hsp65) in a murine model of tuberculosis. as dna vaccines are often less effective i ... | 2008 | 18208592 |
| [worsening of leprosy lesions in a philippine-born patient]. | 2008 | 18341924 | |
| [study of rifampin and dapsone resistance in three patients with recurring leprosy]. | to detect the presence of rifampin- and dapsone-resistant strains of mycobacterium leprae in three patients with recurring leprosy and clinically-suspected antimicrobial resistance through molecular techniques. | 2008 | 18371276 |
| the functional state of the complement system in leprosy. | ninety-one patients with different clinical forms of leprosy, 36 lepromatous (ll), 33 tuberculoid (tl), and 22 dimorphic (dl), and 31 healthy volunteer donors were included in this study. total complement system (cs) activity was assessed by hemolytic methods, whereas individual components were quantified by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. under conditions allowing initiation of cascade by the classic pathway (cp) but not alternative pathway (ap) activation, significant cs consumption was ... | 2008 | 18385356 |
| [insatiable challenge for eradication of leprosy]. | 2008 | 18389941 | |
| deciphering the genetic bases of the structural diversity of phenolic glycolipids in strains of the mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. | phenolic glycolipids (pgl) play a major role in the virulence of mycobacteria, notably in strains of the mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and in mycobacterium leprae. the structure of the carbohydrate domain of these compounds is highly variable, and the genetic bases for these variations remain unknown. we demonstrated that the monoglycosylated pgl formed by mycobacterium bovis differs from the triglycosylated pgl synthesized by m. tuberculosis (pgl-tb) because of the following two genetic de ... | 2008 | 18390543 |
| cyclic amp in mycobacteria: characterization and functional role of the rv1647 ortholog in mycobacterium smegmatis. | mycobacterial genomes are endowed with many eukaryote-like nucleotide cyclase genes encoding proteins that can synthesize 3',5'-cyclic amp (camp). however, the roles of camp and the need for such redundancy in terms of adenylyl cyclase genes remain unknown. we measured camp levels in mycobacterium smegmatis during growth and under various stress conditions and report the first biochemical and functional characterization of the msmeg_3780 adenylyl cyclase, whose orthologs in mycobacterium tubercu ... | 2008 | 18390660 |
| use of short tandem repeat sequences to study mycobacterium leprae in leprosy patients in malawi and india. | inadequate understanding of the transmission of mycobacterium leprae makes it difficult to predict the impact of leprosy control interventions. genotypic tests that allow tracking of individual bacterial strains would strengthen epidemiological studies and contribute to our understanding of the disease. | 2008 | 18398487 |
| an elderly woman with a diffuse annular eruption. | 2008 | 18419493 | |
| erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase activities and blood glutathione content in leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by mycobacterium leprae involving cutaneous tissue and peripheral nerves producing skin lesions, nerve degeneration, anaesthesia and deformities. in leprosy, the activated phagocytes produce reactive oxygen species (ros) as a part of their microbicidal function. such ros are capable of damaging the host tissue by lipid peroxidation. increased lipid peroxidation has been reported in leprosy. the glutathione antioxidant system with glutathione pe ... | 2008 | 18440071 |
| the phenolic glycolipid of mycobacterium tuberculosis differentially modulates the early host cytokine response but does not in itself confer hypervirulence. | mycobacterium tuberculosis possesses a diversity of potential virulence factors including complex branched lipids such as the phenolic glycolipid pgl-tb. pgl-tb expression by the clinical m. tuberculosis isolate hn878 has been associated with a less efficient th1 response and increased virulence in mice and rabbits. it has been suggested that the w-beijing family is the only group of m. tuberculosis strains with an intact pks1-15 gene, required for the synthesis of pgl-tb and capable of producin ... | 2008 | 18443098 |
| hiv-m. leprae interaction: can haart modify the course of leprosy? | it has been speculated that, as seen in tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) and mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) co-infection may exacerbate the pathogenesis of leprosy lesions and/or lead to increased susceptibility to leprosy. however, to date, hiv infection has not appeared to increase susceptibility to leprosy. in contrast, initiation of antiretroviral treatment (art) has been reported to be associated with anecdotal activation of m. leprae infection and exacerbation of existing ... | 2008 | 18457073 |
| human tlr1 deficiency is associated with impaired mycobacterial signaling and protection from leprosy reversal reaction. | toll-like receptors (tlrs) are important regulators of the innate immune response to pathogens, including mycobacterium leprae, which is recognized by tlr1/2 heterodimers. we previously identified a transmembrane domain polymorphism, tlr1_t1805g, that encodes an isoleucine to serine substitution and is associated with impaired signaling. we hypothesized that this tlr1 snp regulates the innate immune response and susceptibility to leprosy. in hek293 cells transfected with the 1805t or 1805g varia ... | 2008 | 18461142 |
| leprosy: diagnostic and control challenges for a worldwide disease. | leprosy is a curable disease with well-defined etiology, but lacks better diagnostic tools, preventive and therapeutic strategies. the continued application of the ridley-jopling clinical classification that recognizes the natural diversity of the immune response has provided the basis for understanding leprosy, and this review proposes its implementation in all reference centers in order to standardize the diagnostic resources, aiming at the improvement of the disease control. due to the broad ... | 2008 | 18461340 |
| simple sequence repeats in different genome sequences of shigella and comparison with high gc and at-rich genomes. | simple sequence repeats (ssrs) are omnipresent in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and are found anywhere in the genome in both protein encoding and noncoding regions. in present study the whole genome sequences of seven chromosomes (shigella flexneri 2a str301 and 2457t, shigella sonnei, escherichia coli k12, mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycobacterium leprae and staphylococcus saprophyticus) have downloaded from the genbank database for identifying abundance, distribution and composition of ssrs and ... | 2008 | 18464038 |
| leprosy is (still) here, but recognition is often delayed. | 2008 | 18475232 | |
| armadillos as a source of infection for leprosy. | 2008 | 18475233 | |
| three indigenous cases of leprosy in the mississippi delta. | three native-born patients from the mississippi delta presented with leprosy over a 13-month period. none had a history of foreign travel, contact with each other, or known leprosy patients. two patients' lesions lacked anesthesia, and all had a history of armadillo exposure. these cases add to the association of armadillo exposure and the subsequent development of leprosy. | 2008 | 18475242 |
| the role of the armadillo and sooty mangabey monkey in human leprosy. | the armadillo was the first animal model of leprosy. its role in the transmission of leprosy remains controversial. the sooty mangabey model of leprosy led to the discovery that rhesus monkeys were more susceptible to leprosy when coinfected with simian immunodeficiency virus (siv), but that leprosy may play a protective role against acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (aids) mortality. recently, molecular methods have been developed for leprosy and may help resolve the role of zoonoses in lepros ... | 2008 | 18477141 |
| characterization of two heparan sulphate-binding sites in the mycobacterial adhesin hlp. | the histone-like hlp protein is emerging as a key component in mycobacterial pathogenesis, being involved in the initial events of host colonization by interacting with laminin and glycosaminoglycans (gags). in the present study, nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) was used to map the binding site(s) of hlp to heparan sulfate and identify the nature of the amino acid residues directly involved in this interaction. | 2008 | 18482453 |
| characterization of langerhans cells in epidermal sheets along the body of armadillo (dasypus novemcinctus). | armadillos are apparently important reservoirs of mycobacterium leprae and an animal model for human leprosy, whose immune system has been poorly studied. we aimed at characterizing the armadillo's langerhans cells (lc) using epidermal sheets instead of tissue sections, since the latter restrict analysis only to cut-traversed cells. epidermal sheets by providing an en face view, are particularly convenient to evaluate dendritic morphology (cells are complete), spatial distribution (regular vs. c ... | 2008 | 18482772 |
| the 3'utr 1188 a/c polymorphism in the interleukin-12p40 gene (il-12b) is associated with lepromatous leprosy in the west of mexico. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. il-12 participates in the immune response against m. leprae by regulating t cell differentiation into the th1-type response. several single nucleotide polymorphisms have been identified in the il-12 gene such as 3'utr 1188 a/c polymorphism, which is associated with different diseases. however, the relationship of this polymorphism with the immune response in leprosy has not been explored. in this case-control study, we evalu ... | 2008 | 18485489 |
| anti-pgl-tb1 responses as an indicator of the immune restoration syndrome in hiv-tb patients. | a prospective and multi-centre study has allowed us to analyse antibody responses and mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolate genotypes on 24 consecutive hiv-tb co-infected patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (haart) who either went on to develop a tb immune restoration syndrome (tb-irs), or not. circulating free and immune-complexed antibodies against manlam, esat-6/cfp10 and pgl-tb1 in hiv-tb co-infected patients were measured by elisa at the initiation of anti-tb tr ... | 2008 | 18495539 |
| are variable-number tandem repeats appropriate for genotyping mycobacterium leprae? | comparative genomics analysis of the tamil nadu strain of mycobacterium leprae has uncovered several polymorphic sites with potential as epidemiological tools. in this study we compared the stability of two different markers of genomic biodiversity of m. leprae in several biopsy samples isolated from the same leprosy patient. the first type comprises five different variable-number tandem repeats (vntr), while the second is composed of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (snp). contrasting resu ... | 2008 | 18495858 |
| integrin beta 4 in neural cells. | integrin beta 4, one of the heterodimeric receptors, is expressed predominantly on epithelial cells. it is concentrated at the basement membrane zone, where it localizes to specialized adhesion structures called hemidesmosomes. in addition to its adhesive functions, novel insights have emerged regarding the specific roles of integrin beta 4 in their attachment to extracellular matrix and in their signal transduction pathways within the central nervous system (cns) and peripheral nervous system i ... | 2008 | 18516507 |
| localized lepromatous leprosy in household contact of multibacillary disease. | lepromatous leprosy (ll) is a generalized disease, usually with numerous papules, nodules, or plaques containing abundant mycobacterium leprae and affecting wide areas of the skin. | 2008 | 18544298 |
| h2o2 and (.)no scavenging by mycobacterium leprae truncated hemoglobin o. | kinetics of ferric mycobacterium leprae truncated hemoglobin o (trhbofe(iii)) oxidation by h2o2 and of trhbofe(iv)o reduction by (.)no and no2- are reported. the value of the second-order rate constant for h2o2-mediated oxidation of trhbofe(iii) is 2.4 x 10(3) m(-1) s(-1). the value of the second-order rate constant for (.)no-mediated reduction of trhbofe(iv)o is 7.8 x 10(6) m(-1) s(-1). the value of the first-order rate constant for trhbofe(iii)ono decay to the resting form trhbofe(iii) is 2.1 ... | 2008 | 18544337 |
| expression and characterization of recombinant interferon gamma (ifn-gamma) from the nine-banded armadillo (dasypus novemcinctus) and its effect on mycobacterium leprae-infected macrophages. | armadillos (dasypus novemcinctus) manifest the full histopathological spectrum of leprosy, and are hosts of choice for in vivo propagation of mycobacterium leprae. though potentially useful as a model of leprosy pathogenesis, few armadillo-specific reagents exist. we have identified a region of high homology to the interferon gamma (ifn-gamma) of other mammals within the recently published armadillo whole genomic sequence. cdna was made from cona-stimulated armadillo peripheral blood mononuclear ... | 2008 | 18558493 |
| deciphering the proteomic profile of mycobacterium leprae cell envelope. | the complete sequence of the mycobacterium leprae genome, an obligate intracellular pathogen, shows a dramatic reduction of functional genes, with a coding capacity of less than 50%. despite this massive gene decay, the leprosy bacillus has managed to preserve a minimal gene set, most of it shared with mycobacterium tuberculosis, allowing its survival in the host with ensuing pathological manifestations. thus, the identification of proteins that are actually expressed in vivo by m. leprae is of ... | 2008 | 18563741 |
| does clofazimine (b663) reach mycobacterium leprae persisting in schwann cells and endothelial cells of endoneurial blood vessels in peripheral nerves? | peripheral nerve biopsies from 10 lepromatous leprosy (ll) patients who were on multidrug treatment (mdt) were investigated by light and electron microscopy. clofazimine (clf) has been included as an essential component of mdt, which is the standard who regimen for treatment of leprosy. the patients receiving continuous mdt for a long period had viable bacilli in schwann cells (scs) of peripheral nerves whereas they had disappeared from the skin. our ultrastructural observations clearly indicate ... | 2008 | 18567015 |
| powerful bactericidal activity of moxifloxacin in human leprosy. | in a clinical trial of moxifloxacin in eight multibacillary leprosy patients, moxifloxacin proved highly effective. in all trial patients, a single 400-mg dose of moxifloxacin resulted in significant killing (p <or= 0.006) of mycobacterium leprae, ranging from 82% to 99%, with a mean of 91%. in all instances, no viable bacilli were detected with an additional 3 weeks of daily therapy, this observed rapid bactericidal activity being matched previously only by rifampin. on moxifloxacin therapy, sk ... | 2008 | 18573938 |
| erbb2: nonimmune genetic key to leprosy. | 2008 | 18583808 | |
| detection of viable mycobacterium leprae in soil samples: insights into possible sources of transmission of leprosy. | leprosy has ceased to be a public health problem world wide, after the successful implementation of effective chemotherapy (mdt) and use of control measures. however, new cases of leprosy continue to occur. mycobacterium leprae cannot be grown in any acceptable culture medium and besides the wild armadillos, there is no known animal reservoir for leprosy. the transmission of leprosy is believed to be due to a large extent by droplet discharge of bacilli through nose and mouth and to a lesser ext ... | 2008 | 18599381 |
| treatment regimens for leprosy. | 2008 | 20329379 | |
| development and evaluation of real-time rt-pcr assay for quantitative estimation of viable mycobacterium leprae in clinical samples. | detection of live organisms by molecular methods has special significance in leprosy where causative organism can not be cultivated in vitro. such techniques would be especially important for monitoring the progress of the disease. while real-time rt- pcr technology will be appropriate for this purpose, there is very little experience of use of such tools in leprosy. this study describes the development of a quantitative rt-pcr targeting 16s rrna based on primers used in a semi quantitative rt-p ... | 2008 | 20329380 |
| long term follow-up results of 1 year mdt in mb leprosy patients treated with standard mdt + once a month minocycline and ofloxacin. | this study was initiated in consultation with the national leprosy eradication programme (nlep) in mid nineties to try new treatment regimens for leprosy which were more robust in terms of control of reactions, long term relapses, operationally easier to undertake and feasible in field conditions. it was also envisaged to see if the addition of newer bactericidal drugs would be beneficial. | 2008 | 20329382 |
| peripheral edema in lepromatous leprosy--could thalidomide be the culprit. | 2008 | 20329383 | |
| protein phosphorylation pattern in the immune cells of leprosy affected individuals. | leprosy is an infectious disease in which the susceptibility to the pathogen mycobacterium leprae and the clinical manifestations are attributed to host immune cell response. receptor mediated events and signalling in the immune cells are mediated by protein phosphorylation. the main signalling pathways and protein kinases known to be involved in the regulation of immune cells are camp dependent kinases, calcium/calmodulin dependent kinases, protein kinase c and mitogen activated protein kinases ... | 2008 | 19738337 |
| 17th international leprosy congress, hyderabad. reports of pre-congress workshops held on january 29th-30th, 2008. | 2008 | 19425514 | |
| leprosy type 1 (reversal) reactions and their management. | the type of leprosy that affects an individual depends on the immune response mounted against the organism. this leads to a spectrum of disease which may be complicated by immunological phenomena called reactions. antimicrobial chemotherapy is effective in treating the mycobacterium leprae infection but up to 30% of individuals with borderline disease experience type 1 reactions (t1rs). t1rs are immunologically mediated episodes, localised in skin and nerves, which are a major cause of nerve fun ... | 2008 | 19274984 |
| the role of free-living pathogenic amoeba in the transmission of leprosy: a proof of principle. | leprosy transmission remains poorly understood, though, prolonged skin contact and/or infection via nasal mucosa, are considered likely. problematic in any transmission hypothesis is the fastidious nature of mycobacterium leprae outside its host cell and the requirement for temporary survival in the environment, soil or water. experiments were carried out to test the hypothesis that free living pathogenic amoeba might serve as host cells for m. leprae, protecting them from adverse environmental ... | 2008 | 19274986 |
| antileprosy activity and preliminary toxicological characteristics of some dialkyldithiocarbamate derivatives. | antileprosy activity of dialkyldithiocarbamate derivatives was studied in experiments on mice infected with m. leprae into paw pads. we found that 2-diethyldithiocarbamoyl-3-cyano-5-nitropyridine is the most promising antileprosy agent; it effectively suppresses multiplication of m. leprae and is well tolerated under conditions of chronic animal experiment. | 2008 | 19110590 |
| in silico comparison of simple sequence repeats in high nucleotides-rich genomes of microorganism. | this study determined the distribution of a specific group of simple sequence repeats (ssrs), in genome sequences of 7 chromosomes (shigella flexneri 2a str 301 and 2457 t, shigella sonnei, e. coli k12, m. tuberculosis, m. leprae and s. saprophytycus) have downloaded from the genbank database for identifying abundance, distribution and composition of ssrs. the data obtained in the present study show that: (i) tandem repeats are widely distributed throughout the genomes. (ii) ssrs are differentia ... | 2008 | 19137845 |
| functional characterization of a small heat shock protein from mycobacterium leprae. | small heat shock proteins are ubiquitous family of stress proteins, having a role in virulence and survival of the pathogen. m. leprae, the causative agent of leprosy is an uncultivable organism in defined media, hence the biology and function of proteins were examined by cloning m. leprae genes in heterologous hosts. the study on shsp18 was carried out as the knowledge about the functions of this major immunodominant antigen of m. leprae is scanty. | 2008 | 19040732 |
| pgl-i leprosy serology. | 2008 | 19618067 | |
| leprosy serology using pgl-i: a systematic review. | serology using a species-specific antigen for mycobacterium leprae, pgl-i, could be a marker for the bacterial load of patients with leprosy. various studies have identified the potential use of serology in the classification of patients for treatment purposes, case monitoring, identification of the risk of relapse and selection of household contacts with a higher risk of contracting the disease. a systematic review of the literature was conducted and 26 articles were included in this comparativ ... | 2008 | 19618069 |
| the result patterns of ml flow and elisa (pgl-i) serologic tests in leprosy-endemic and non-endemic areas. | ml flow and anti-pgl-i elisa are serological tests that detect igm antibodies against the phenolic glycolipid i (pgl-i), specific to mycobacterium leprae. to evaluate the outcomes of ml flow and elisa (pgl-i) serological tests in leprosy-endemic areas in comparison to non-endemic ones, a total of 351 volunteers from brazil and chile were examined, including leprosy patients, healthy controls and others affected by other infectious or non-infectious diseases that are common differential diagnoses ... | 2008 | 19618070 |
| association of the ml flow serologic test to slit skin smear. | a descriptive, exploratory study was conducted analyzing the association of covariables in the results of the ml flow serological test and slit skin smear. a total of 60 leprosy cases diagnosed at the state sanitary dermatology referral center were investigated. slit skin smear samples were collected from four sites and the results were expressed by the bacillary index. ml flow was registered in both qualitative and semi-quantitative terms. cohen's kappa coefficient was used to study the agreeme ... | 2008 | 19618071 |
| the use of serology as an additional tool to support diagnosis of difficult multibacillary leprosy cases: lessons from clinical care. | seven multibacillary leprosy and two suspected cases assisted in different situations during clinical care activities at the university in rio de janeiro city are described. all cases presented some difficulties for diagnosis, since they evolved with few or no cardinal signs or symptoms of leprosy. a serological test used as an auxiliary tool was helpful in the diagnosis or exclusion procedure of each case, facilitating academic discussions at the time of case examination. considering serology a ... | 2008 | 19618072 |
| the influence of ml flow test in leprosy classification. | this is a descriptive, exploratory study correlating ml flow, bacilloscopy and classification of paucibacillary (pb) and multibacillary (mb), involving 1,041 new leprosy cases in 13 municipalities of minas gerais state, from october 2002 to march 2004. agreement between ml flow and the classification of the number of skin lesions and bacilloscopy was moderate (k:0.51 and k:0.48, respectively); and substantial for final classification (k:0.77). from january 2000 to march 2004, the proportion of n ... | 2008 | 19618073 |
| risk factors for ml flow seropositivity in leprosy patients. | the early diagnosis of leprosy, its correct classification and the risk factors related to seropositivity have become important for patient treatment and disease control, especially where the responsibility for treatment has been transferred to basic health care centers. this descriptive, exploratory study using logistic regression was undertaken to evaluate the association between the variables of sex, age, mode of detection, number of skin lesions and affected nerves, disability grade and baci ... | 2008 | 19618074 |
| leprosy serology (ml flow test) in borderline leprosy patients classified as paucibacillary by counting cutaneous lesions: an useful tool. | leprosy remains an endemic disease in brazil, with almost 40,000 new cases diagnosed each year. as it is difficult to perform laboratory procedures in the field, operational classification is determined by counting lesions, which can cause underdiagnosis of multibacillary cases and failures in treatment. to evaluate a new tool to diagnose mb cases, the ml flow test, 21/77 (27.3%) patients with untreated borderline leprosy (6 bl and 15 bt) with 1 to 5 cutaneous lesions were evaluated according to ... | 2008 | 19618075 |
| evaluation of the agreement between clinical and laboratorial exams in the diagnosis of leprosy. | this study examined the correlation between the clinical and laboratory diagnosis of leprosy, using biopsy results from laboratories 'a' and 'b' and the ml flow test. clinical and histopathological diagnoses presented 67.6% agreement. the laboratories showed 73.7% agreement in the bacterial index and laboratory 'b' detected 25.4% more positives. the highest agreement was in the ll form and lowest, in the i form. the highest diagnostic discrepancy was for the bb form. clinical diagnosis agreement ... | 2008 | 19618076 |
| seroprevalence of ml flow test in leprosy contacts from state of minas gerais, brazil. | leprosy is a public health problem in brazil. epidemiological control actions are based on the diagnosis and treatment of leprosy patients and household contact surveillance. serological tests for leprosy could identify from among the contacts those at greater risk of developing leprosy in the future. ml flow was administered to 2,840 household contacts of new leprosy cases diagnosed from october 2002 to march 2004, in state of minas gerais. ml flow was positive in 20.5% of leprosy contacts, wit ... | 2008 | 19618077 |
| association between leprosy reactions after treatment and bacterial load evaluated using anti pgl-i serology and bacilloscopy. | leprosy (hansen's disease, hd) reactions are immune-inflammatory phenomena that occur during the evolution of the disease. given the current criteria for treatment of the disease, this event is often observed after the patient has been released from treatment (rft) from multi-drug therapy (mdt). a case-control study was conducted comparing laboratory results of cases of leprosy reactions after rft from multibacillary mdt (mdt/mb) with a control group to analyze the possible association between p ... | 2008 | 19618079 |
| research regarding anti-pgl-i antibodies by elisa in wild armadillos from brazil. | armadillos have been involved in leprosy transmission and are considered a source of mycobacterium leprae in numerous reports. clinicians from certain areas of the usa consider contact with armadillos a risk factor for leprosy. however, there is a challenge associated with the role of wild armadillos perpetuating human leprosy in the american continent. the presence of anti-pgl-i antibodies was investigated in wild nine-banded armadillos from leprosy-endemic areas in state of espirito santo, bra ... | 2008 | 19618080 |
| the use of ml flow test in school children diagnosed with leprosy in the district of paracatu, minas gerais. | the detection rate of leprosy in the district of paracatu is high in the age group under 15 years-old, including about 6.8/10,000 inhabitants in 2003, and classified as hyperendemic. the study aimed to analyze the application of the pgl-1 (ml flow) serological test in 56 of 68 school-age patients of the public school system, diagnosed with leprosy through active case finding in paracatu, minas gerais state (2004 to 2006), with 71% classified as paucibacillary. of these, 85.2% lived in urban area ... | 2008 | 19618081 |
| the relation between seroprevalence of antibodies against phenolic glycolipid-i among school children and leprosy endemicity in brazil. | leprosy control programs would benefit expressively from an easy method to estimate disease prevalence and to assess the effect of leprosy control measures on disease prevalence. determination of the seroprevalence of antibodies to pgl-i through school children surveys might be a useful indicator of leprosy prevalence at the district level. to investigate whether seropositivity rates could be related to leprosy detection rates and whether seropositivity could be used as a proximal indicator to p ... | 2008 | 19618082 |
| challenges in the post genomic era for the development of tests for leprosy diagnosis. | leprosy diagnosis is based mainly on clinical manifestations and no laboratory test is available to diagnose asymptomatic disease or to predict disease progression among exposed individuals. novel comparative genomic in silico analyses and molecular biology tools have discovered unique mycobacterium leprae proteins with potential diagnostic application. tuberculoid paucibacillary leprosy (pb) shows low antibodies titers and strong th1 type/ ifn-gamma specific cell mediated immunity (cmi), while ... | 2008 | 19618083 |
| analysis of chemokine receptors on the surface of circulating leukocytes of individuals infected with mycobacterium leprae: preliminary results. | in this study, the expression of chemokine receptors on the surface of circulating leukocytes was determined using flow cytometry. an increase in the percentage of ccr2+cd4+ lymphocytes was observed in the peripheral blood of leprosy patients. this preliminary data suggests that alterations occur in the chemokine receptor profile of these patients. | 2008 | 19618084 |
| evaluation of the expression of interleukin 1 beta (il-1beta) and interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (il-1ra) in leprosy patients. | leprosy is an infectious and contagious spectral disease accompanied by a series of immunological events triggered by the host's response to the etiologic agent, mycobacterium leprae. evidence suggests that the induction and maintenance of the immune/inflammatory response in leprosy are linked to multiple cell interactions and soluble factors, mainly through the action of cytokines. the elisa test was used to measure the levels of il-1beta and il-1ra in 37 new leprosy patients followed-up during ... | 2008 | 19618085 |
| the use of the name mycobacterium w for the leprosy immunotherapeutic bacillus creates confusion with m. tuberculosis-w (beijing strain): a suggestion. | 2008 | 17766188 | |
| investigating the function of the putative mycolic acid methyltransferase umaa: divergence between the mycobacterium smegmatis and mycobacterium tuberculosis proteins. | mycolic acids are major and specific lipid components of the cell envelope of mycobacteria that include the causative agents of tuberculosis and leprosy, mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae, respectively. subtle structural variations that are known to be crucial for both their virulence and the permeability of their cell envelope occur in mycolic acids. among these are the introduction of cyclopropyl groups and methyl branches by mycolic acid s-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyl ... | 2008 | 18006503 |
| inhibition of apoptosis, activation of nkt cell and upregulation of cd40 and cd40l mediated by m. leprae antigen(s) combined with murabutide and trat peptide in leprosy patients. | protective immunity against intracellular pathogen mycobacterium leprae is dependent on the activation of t cells. repeated stimulation of t cells by m. leprae antigens mlcwa (m. leprae total cell wall antigen) and manlam (mannose-capped lipoarabinomannan), may lead to apoptosis in leprosy patients. in the present study, inhibition of the fas-induced apoptosis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells of leprosy patients was investigated using above m. leprae antigen(s), in combination with immunomo ... | 2008 | 18008143 |
| genome scale portrait of camp-receptor protein (crp) regulons in mycobacteria points to their role in pathogenesis. | camp receptor protein (crp)/fumarate nitrate reductase regulator (fnr) family proteins are ubiquitous regulators of cell stress in eubacteria. these proteins are commonly associated with maintenance of intracellular oxygen levels, redox-state, oxidative and nitrosative stresses, and extreme temperature conditions by regulating expression of target genes that contain regulatory cognate dna elements. we describe the use of informatics enabled comparative genomics to identify novel genes under the ... | 2008 | 18022770 |
| unique structural features of the peptidoglycan of mycobacterium leprae. | the peptidoglycan structure of mycobacterium spp. has been investigated primarily with the readily cultivable mycobacterium smegmatis and mycobacterium tuberculosis and has been shown to contain unusual features, including the occurrence of n-glycolylated, in addition to n-acetylated, muramic acid residues and direct cross-linkage between meso-diaminopimelic acid residues. based on results from earlier studies, peptidoglycan from in vivo-derived noncultivable mycobacterium leprae was assumed to ... | 2008 | 18024514 |
| comparison of the mouse foot pad test with a buddemeyer type radiorespirometric assay in detecting viable mycobacterium leprae in human lesional biopsies. | this study assesses the utility of a buddemeyer type radiorespirometric (rr) assay in detecting viable mycobacterium leprae in clinical samples taking the mouse foot pad (mfp) test as gold standard. | 2007 | 18032855 |
| circulating cytokine profiles in leprosy patients. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae which is an obligate intracellular pathogen. it is characterised by a broad spectrum of clinical forms dictated by the patient's immune response to the organism. the tuberculoid pole has good cell mediated immunity to m. leprae, with few lesions and bacilli while the lepromatous pole has poor immunity coupled with extensive involvement and greater bacillary load. | 2007 | 18035773 |
| diffuse leprosy of lucio and latapí: a histologic study. | ladislao de la pascua described the spotted or lazarine leprosy for first time in 1844. later on, lucio and alvarado studied and published it with the same names in 1852. latapí re-discovered it in 1938 and reported it as 'spotted' leprosy of lucio in 1948. frenken named it diffuse leprosy of lucio and latapí in 1963. latapí and chévez-zamora explained that the fundamental condition of this variety of leprosy was a diffuse generalised cutaneous infiltration, naming it pure and primitive diffuse ... | 2007 | 18035776 |
| genetic vaccine for tuberculosis (pvaxhsp65) primes neonate mice for a strong immune response at the adult stage. | vaccination of neonates is generally difficult due to the immaturity of the immune system and consequent higher susceptibility to tolerance induction. genetic immunization has been described as an alternative to trigger a stronger immune response in neonates, including significant th1 polarization. in this investigation we analysed the potential use of a genetic vaccine containing the heat shock protein (hsp65) from mycobacterium leprae (pvaxhsp65) against tuberculosis (tb) in neonate mice. aspe ... | 2007 | 18047644 |