| leprosy agents mycobacterium lepromatosis and mycobacterium leprae in mexico: a clarification. | | 2015 | 26224842 |
| activation and cytokine profile of monocyte derived dendritic cells in leprosy: in vitro stimulation by sonicated mycobacterium leprae induces decreased level of il-12p70 in lepromatous leprosy. | dendritic cells (dcs) play a pivotal role in the connection of innate and adaptive immunity of hosts to mycobacterial infection. studies on the interaction of monocyte-derived dcs (mo-dcs) using mycobacterium leprae in leprosy patients are rare. the present study demonstrated that the differentiation of mos to dcs was similar in all forms of leprosy compared to normal healthy individuals. in vitro stimulation of immature mo-dcs with sonicated m. leprae induced variable degrees of dc maturation a ... | 2015 | 26222022 |
| quantiferon-gold tuberculosis test cannot detect latent tuberculosis in patients with leprosy. | five of 10 paucibacillary leprosy patients were quantiferon gold (q-g) positive with negative chest x-rays. forty multibacillary leprosy patients were negative. reports have shown 100% cross-reactivity of esat6 and cfp10 between mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium tuberculosis. the q-g test cannot detect latent tuberculosis in patients with leprosy. | 2015 | 26209684 |
| primary motor cortex representation of handgrip muscles in patients with leprosy. | leprosy is an endemic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae that predominantly attacks the skin and peripheral nerves, leading to progressive impairment of motor, sensory and autonomic function. little is known about how this peripheral neuropathy affects corticospinal excitability of handgrip muscles. our purpose was to explore the motor cortex organization after progressive peripheral nerve injury and upper-limb dysfunction induced by leprosy using noninvasive transcranial magnetic ... | 2015 | 26203653 |
| asymptomatic leprosy infection among blood donors may predict disease development and suggests a potential mode of transmission. | blood donor samples (1,007) were assessed for anti-phenolic glycolipid 1 (pgl-1) igm antibodies and mycobacterium leprae dna presence, which had 3.8% and 0.3% positivity, respectively. after a 5-year follow-up period, six individuals with positive markers developed leprosy, raising the hypothesis that asymptomatic infection among blood donors may be an undisclosed mode of leprosy transmission via transfusion. | 2015 | 26202111 |
| characterization of mycobacterium leprae genotypes in china--identification of a new polymorphism c251t in the 16s rrna gene. | 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 dna samples collected from patients from 18 different provinces. all 171 dna samples from skin biopsies ... | 2015 | 26196543 |
| the curse of the nine-banded armadillo: case report and review. | hansen's disease (leprosy) is an ancient condition characterized by hypopigmented patches that progress to become plaques with hypoesthesia. several case reports suggest that armadillos may be a source of mycobacterium leprae for clinical cases, and contact with armadillos has been shown to be a significant risk factor in several case-control studies. early diagnosis and treatment result in an excellent prognosis and provide an effective means to prevent complications of peripheral nerve injury, ... | 2015 | 26126264 |
| study of oxidative stress in different forms of leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. india records the highest number of new leprosy cases in the world. oxidative stress may play a significant role in leprosy. | 2017 | 26120177 |
| chronicles of gerhard-henrik armauer hansen's life and work. | gerhard-henrik armauer hansen, a norwegian scientist, discovered mycobacterium leprae as the causative organism for leprosy, defying the hereditary affliction theory of the disease. he was born in bergen, norway in 1841 in a danish family. after acquiring his medical degree in 1866 from the university of oslo, he joined as an assistant physician in a leprosy hospital in bergen. in 1873, he published his report claiming leprosy to be an infectious disease with a description of the infectious mate ... | 2017 | 26120145 |
| borderline tuberculoid leprosy in childhood onset systemic lupus erythematosus patient. | leprosy is a contagious and chronic systemic granulomatous disease caused by the bacillus mycobacterium leprae. to our knowledge, no case of leprosy in a childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (c-sle) patient has been reported. for a period of 31 years, 312 c-sle patients were followed at the pediatric rheumatology unit of our university hospital. one of them (0.3%) had tuberculoid leprosy skin lesions during the disease course and is here reported. a 10-year-old boy from northwest of braz ... | 2015 | 26113359 |
| use of approximate bayesian computation to assess and fit models of mycobacterium leprae to predict outcomes of the brazilian control program. | hansen's disease (leprosy) elimination has proven difficult in several countries, including brazil, and there is a need for a mathematical model that can predict control program efficacy. this study applied the approximate bayesian computation algorithm to fit 6 different proposed models to each of the 5 regions of brazil, then fitted hierarchical models based on the best-fit regional models to the entire country. the best model proposed for most regions was a simple model. posterior checks foun ... | 2015 | 26107951 |
| it is time to review concepts on renal involvement in leprosy: pre- and post-treatment evaluation of 189 patients. | functional and morphological renal lesions have been widely described in leprosy for decades. nevertheless few studies have assessed renal function pre- and during treatment after the advent of multidrug therapy (mdt). | 2015 | 26099294 |
| histoid leprosy: review of the literature. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous inflammation primarily of the peripheral nervous system, skin, and reticuloendothelial system caused by mycobacterium leprae. it presents clinically as an erythematous or hypopigmented anesthetic patch and a thickened and/or tender cutaneous nerve trunk. leprosy is also called hansen disease. leprosy is a great imitator of other skin diseases, and it can present with different morphological lesions, which is why an expert eye is needed to diagnose it. one of th ... | 2015 | 26094829 |
| the immunology and inflammatory responses of human melanocytes in infectious diseases. | melanin is a canonical and major defense molecule in invertebrates but its role in mammalian immunity remains unexplored. in contrast, several recent studies have highlighted the emerging innate immune activities of human melanin-producing cells which can sense and respond to bacterial and viral infections. indeed, the skin is a major portal of entry for pathogens such as arboviruses (chikungunya, dengue) and bacteria (mycobacterium leprae, leptospira spirochetes). melanocytes of the epidermis c ... | 2015 | 26092350 |
| a historical overview of leprosy epidemiology and control activities in amazonas, brazil. | leprosy is an ancient infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. according to comparative genomics studies, this disease originated in eastern africa or the near east and spread with successive human migrations. the europeans and north africans introduced leprosy into west africa and the americas within the past 500 years. in brazil, this disease arrived with the colonizers who disembarked at the first colonies, rio de janeiro, salvador and recife, at the end of the sixteenth century, af ... | 2015 | 26061371 |
| pure neuritic leprosy presenting as ulnar nerve neuropathy: a case report of electrodiagnostic, radiographic, and histopathological findings. | hansen's disease, or leprosy, is a chronic infectious disease with many manifestations. though still a major health concern and leading cause of peripheral neuropathy in the developing world, it is rare in the united states, with only about 150 cases reported each year. nevertheless, it is imperative that neurosurgeons consider it in the differential diagnosis of neuropathy. the causative organism is mycobacterium leprae, which infects and damages schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system, ... | 2015 | 26047418 |
| il-27 suppresses antimicrobial activity in human leprosy. | the mechanisms by which intracellular pathogens trigger immunosuppressive pathways are critical for understanding the pathogenesis of microbial infection. one pathway that inhibits host defense responses involves the induction of type i interferons and subsequently il-10, yet the mechanism by which type i ifn induces il-10 remains unclear. our studies of gene expression profiles derived from leprosy skin lesions suggested a link between il-27 and the ifn-β induced il-10 pathway. here, we demonst ... | 2015 | 26030183 |
| a case of leprosy in italy: a multifaceted disease which continues to challenge medical doctors. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, characterized by a very long incubation period, confounding signs and symptoms and difficulty to establish the onset time. considering the stigma associated with the diagnosis and the difficulties in detecting asymptomatic leprosy, the incidence and prevalence of this disease are underestimated. in italy, leprosy is currently included among the rare diseases and can occur as an imported pathology in native individuals or ext ... | 2016 | 26018958 |
| draft genome sequence of new leprosy agent mycobacterium lepromatosis. | mycobacterium lepromatosis is a newly discovered cause of leprosy. here, we present a near-complete genome of m. lepromatosis from strain fj924 obtained from a patient who died of leprosy. the genome contained 3,215,823 nucleotides and matched ~87% with the mycobacterium leprae genome. this genome is likely the smallest of all mycobacterial genomes known to date. | 2015 | 25999555 |
| surgical treatment of type i neuritis in a teenage boy with borderline tuberculoid leprosy. | exacerbation of the immune response against mycobacterium leprae can lead to neuritis, which is commonly treated via immunosuppression with corticosteroids. early neurolysis may be performed concurrently, especially in young patients with a risk of functional sequelae. we report the case of a young patient experienced intense pain in the left elbow one year after the treatment of tuberculoid-tuberculoid leprosy. the pain was associated with paresthesias in the ulnar edge and left ulnar claw. aft ... | 2015 | 25992943 |
| correlation between central memory t cell expression and proinflammatory cytokine production with clinical presentation of multibacillary leprosy relapse. | despite the efficacy of multidrug therapy, surviving mycobacterium leprae causes relapse in some leprosy patients, and these patients present signs and symptoms of disease after healing. this study focused on the cellular immune response in relapsed multibacillary patients but also included non-relapsed multibacillary cured individuals, newly diagnosed and untreated multibacillary patients, paucibacillary patients just before the beginning of treatment, and voluntary healthy individuals for comp ... | 2015 | 25992795 |
| drug resistance in mycobacterium leprae from patients with leprosy in china. | previous studies of drug resistance have shown that mutations in the drug resistance-determining region (drdr) in the folp1, rpob and gyra genes of mycobacterium leprae are responsible for resistance to dapsone, rifampin and ofloxacin, respectively. | 2015 | 25991507 |
| multibacillary leprosy in an active duty military member. | | 2015 | 25989473 |
| identification of functional candidates amongst hypothetical proteins of mycobacterium leprae br4923, a causative agent of leprosy. | mycobacterium leprae is an intracellular obligate parasite that causes leprosy in humans, and it leads to the destruction of peripheral nerves and skin deformation. here, we report an extensive analysis of the hypothetical proteins (hps) from m. leprae strain br4923, assigning their functions to better understand the mechanism of pathogenesis and to search for potential therapeutic interventions. the genome of m. leprae encodes 1604 proteins, of which the functions of 632 are not known (hps). in ... | 2015 | 25985983 |
| osteological, biomolecular and geochemical examination of an early anglo-saxon case of lepromatous leprosy. | we have examined a 5th to 6th century inhumation from great chesterford, essex, uk. the incomplete remains are those of a young male, aged around 21-35 years at death. the remains show osteological evidence of lepromatous leprosy (ll) and this was confirmed by lipid biomarker analysis and ancient dna (adna) analysis, which provided evidence for both multi-copy and single copy loci from the mycobacterium leprae genome. genotyping showed the strain belonged to the 3i lineage, but the great chester ... | 2015 | 25970602 |
| evaluation of the orofacial lesions in treated leprosy patients. | leprosy is primarily a disease of developmental countries. about 4 million people have or are disabled by leprosy. eighty-six percent of leprosy patients reside in southeast asia and brazil. india accounts for up to 70% of total cases. | 2017 | 25948993 |
| attenuation of experimental asthma by mycobacterial protein combined with cpg requires a tlr9-dependent ifn-γ-ccr2 signalling circuit. | allergic asthma is a chronic pulmonary disease characterized by a th2 inflammatory response. the modulation of a th2 immune response based on immune deviation to a th1 pattern or induction and migration of regulatory t cells to the lungs constitutes one of the major therapeutic approaches that is being investigated for the treatment of allergic asthma. the potentials of mycobacterium leprae 65-kd heat-shock protein or toll-like receptor 9 ligand (cpg oligodeoxynucleotides) as immune modulators f ... | 2015 | 25944185 |
| diagnosis and treatment of leprosy type 1 (reversal) reaction. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by the organism mycobacterium leprae that primarily affects the skin and peripheral nerves. leprosy has several distinct clinical presentations ranging from moderate to severe, with the extent of disease generally depending on the host's immune response to the infection. treatment typically involves antimicrobials (eg, clofazimine, dapsone, rifampin). once treatment is started, an important aspect of patient care is the recognition of possible ... | 2015 | 25942024 |
| vasculitis and infectious diseases. | vasculitis usually presents without a well-known underline cause (idiopathic vasculitis), nevertheless, it is sometimes possible to find out one or more causative agents (secondary vasculitis). nowadays, thanks to the increasing amount of precise diagnostic tools, a piece of idiopathic vasculitis is reclassified as associated with probable etiology, which can be set off by several factors, such as infections. infections are considered to be the most common cause of secondary vasculitis. virtuall ... | 2015 | 25876145 |
| leprosy: a 'common' and curable cause of peripheral neuropathy with skin lesions. | leprosy (or hansen's disease) is a curable chronic infectious disease caused by the acid-fast bacillus mycobacterium leprae. while leprosy remains one of the most common causes of neuropathy worldwide, its rarity in the uk means that many doctors are unfamiliar with the typical clinical features. this is problematic because early recognition and treatment is vital in order to minimise disease-related complications such as nerve injury. we describe a 75-year-old man who presented with multiple mo ... | 2015 | 25874829 |
| computational modelling of dapsone interaction with dihydropteroate synthase in mycobacterium leprae; insights into molecular basis of dapsone resistance in leprosy. | the molecular basis for determination of resistance to anti-leprosy drugs is the presence of point mutations within the genes of mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) that encode active drug targets. the downstream structural and functional implications of these point mutations on drug targets were scarcely studied. in this study, we utilized computational tools to develop native and mutant protein models for 5 point mutations at codon positions 53 and 55 in 6-hydroxymethyl-7, 8-dihydropteroate synth ... | 2015 | 25833404 |
| insight into the evolution and origin of leprosy bacilli from the genome sequence of mycobacterium lepromatosis. | mycobacterium lepromatosis is an uncultured human pathogen associated with diffuse lepromatous leprosy and a reactional state known as lucio's phenomenon. by using deep sequencing with and without dna enrichment, we obtained the near-complete genome sequence of m. lepromatosis present in a skin biopsy from a mexican patient, and compared it with that of mycobacterium leprae, which has undergone extensive reductive evolution. the genomes display extensive synteny and are similar in size (∼3.27 mb ... | 2015 | 25831531 |
| interaction of mycobacterium leprae with the hacat human keratinocyte cell line: new frontiers in the cellular immunology of leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by mycobacterium leprae affecting the skin and peripheral nerves. despite m. leprae invasion of the skin and keratinocytes importance in innate immunity, the interaction of these cells in vitro during m. leprae infection is poorly understood. conventional and fluorescence optical microscopy, transmission electronic microscopy, flow cytometry and elisa were used to study the in vitro interaction of m. leprae with the hacat human keratinocyte cell ... | 2015 | 25828729 |
| [what hansen's disease research learned from tuberculosis research: from molecular biological aspect]. | as for the mycobacterium leprae which is a causative agent of hansen's disease, many studies had been done since it was identified in 1873. however, those studies, at the same time, experienced many struggles because of the difficulty of culture of m. leprae on the artificial growth media. hence, the study of hansen's disease progressed by taking the knowledge from the study of tuberculosis caused by the bacteria belonging to the same genus, genus mycobacterium. for instance, the knowledge of mu ... | 2014 | 25826852 |
| bone changes in an italian ancient human skeleton--possibly caused by leprosy. | leprosy is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium lepromatosis. in the last stage it can afflict the skeleton with a series of specific and non-specific bone changes. the possibility of studyingthe skeleton of an individual who lived in the pre-antibiotic era (roman period) with skeletal changes in the rhino-maxillary region and hand and foot bones, permitted skeletal lesions to be analyzed directly. in addition, the localization and the complexity of the bony les ... | 2016 | 27506007 |
| interaction of atp with a small heat shock protein from mycobacterium leprae: effect on its structure and function. | adenosine-5'-triphosphate (atp) is an important phosphate metabolite abundantly found in mycobacterium leprae bacilli. this pathogen does not derive atp from its host but has its own mechanism for the generation of atp. interestingly, this molecule as well as several antigenic proteins act as bio-markers for the detection of leprosy. one such bio-marker is the 18 kda antigen. this 18 kda antigen is a small heat shock protein (hsp18) whose molecular chaperone function is believed to help in the g ... | 2015 | 25811190 |
| skin imprinting in silica plates: a potential diagnostic methodology for leprosy using high-resolution mass spectrometry. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, which primarily infects macrophages and schwann cells, affecting skin and peripheral nerves. clinically, the most common form of identification is through the observation of anesthetic lesions on skin; however, up to 30% of infected patients may not present this clinical manifestation. currently, the gold standard diagnostic test for leprosy is based on skin lesion biopsy, which is invasive and presents low sensibility for s ... | 2015 | 25785304 |
| ancient dna analysis - an established technique in charting the evolution of tuberculosis and leprosy. | many tuberculosis and leprosy infections are latent or paucibacillary, suggesting a long time-scale for host and pathogen co-existence. palaeopathology enables recognition of archaeological cases and pcr detects pathogen ancient dna (adna). mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae cell wall lipids are more stable than adna and restrict permeability, thereby possibly aiding long-term persistence of pathogen adna. amplification of adna, using specific pcr primers designed for short frag ... | 2015 | 25773651 |
| m. leprae components induce nerve damage by complement activation: identification of lipoarabinomannan as the dominant complement activator. | peripheral nerve damage is the hallmark of leprosy pathology but its etiology is unclear. we previously identified the membrane attack complex (mac) of the complement system as a key determinant of post-traumatic nerve damage and demonstrated that its inhibition is neuroprotective. here, we determined the contribution of the mac to nerve damage caused by mycobacterium leprae and its components in mouse. furthermore, we studied the association between mac and the key m. leprae component lipoarabi ... | 2015 | 25772973 |
| immunohistochemical analysis of the expression of cellular transcription nfκb (p65), ap-1 (c-fos and c-jun), and jak/stat in leprosy. | leprosy is a disease whose clinical spectrum depends on the cytokine patterns produced during the early stages of the immune response. the main objective of this study was to describe the activation pattern of cellular transcription factors and to correlate these factors with the clinical forms of leprosy. skin samples were obtained from 16 patients with the tuberculoid (tt) form and 14 with the lepromatous (ll) form. the histologic sections were immunostained with anti-c-fos and anti-c-jun mono ... | 2015 | 25771902 |
| mathematical modelling of leprosy and its control. | leprosy or hansen's disease is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium mycobacterium leprae. the annual number of new leprosy cases registered worldwide has remained stable over the past years at over 200,000. early case finding and multidrug therapy have not been able interrupt transmission completely. elimination requires innovation in control and sustained commitment. mathematical models can be used to predict the course of leprosy incidence and the effect of intervention strategies. tw ... | 2015 | 25765193 |
| report of rpob mutation in clinically suspected cases of drug resistant leprosy: a study from eastern india. | the current strategy for leprosy control depends mainly on early case detection and providing the recommended multidrug therapy (mdt) dosage. understanding the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance to each of these drugs is essential in providing effective treatment and preventing the spread of resistant strains in the community. the progress of molecular biology research provides a very efficient opportunity for the diagnosis of drug resistance by in vitro method. | 2015 | 25751332 |
| clinical manifestations of leprosy after bcg vaccination: an observational study in bangladesh. | although bcg is used as a vaccine against tuberculosis, it also protects against leprosy. previous evaluation over 18 years of an intervention of two doses bcg for 3536 household contacts of leprosy patients showed that 28 (23%) out of 122 contacts diagnosed with leprosy, developed symptoms 2-10 months after vaccination. this study describes contacts of leprosy patients in bangladesh who developed leprosy within 12 weeks after receiving a single bcg dose. | 2015 | 25701674 |
| a migration-driven model for the historical spread of leprosy in medieval eastern and central europe. | leprosy was rare in europe during the roman period, yet its prevalence increased dramatically in medieval times. we examined human remains, with paleopathological lesions indicative of leprosy, dated to the 6th-11th century ad, from central and eastern europe and byzantine anatolia. analysis of ancient dna and bacterial cell wall lipid biomarkers revealed mycobacterium leprae in skeletal remains from 6th-8th century northern italy, 7th-11th century hungary, 8th-9th century austria, the slavic gr ... | 2015 | 25680828 |
| computational simulation techniques to understand rifampicin resistance mutation (s425l) of rpob in m. leprae. | mycobacterium leprae, the etiologic agent of leprosy, is non-cultivable in vitro. consequently, the assessment of antibiotic activity against m. leprae hinge mainly upon the time consuming mouse footpad system. as m. leprae develops resistance against most of the drugs, the evolution of new long acting antimycobacterial compounds stand in need for leprosy control. the rpob of m. leprae is the target of antimycobacterial drug, rifampicin. recently, cases were reported that rpob mutation (s425l) b ... | 2015 | 25676141 |
| t regulatory cells (treg)(tcd4+cd25+foxp3+) distribution in the different clinical forms of leprosy and reactional states. | leprosy is characterized histologically by a spectrum of different granulomatous skin lesions, reflecting patients' immune responses to mycobacterium leprae. although cd4+cd25+ foxp3+ t regulatory cells are pivotal in the immuneregulation, presence, frequency, and distribution of tregs in leprosy, its reactional states have been investigated in few studies. | 2017 | 25672298 |
| type 1 reaction in leprosy: a model for a better understanding of tissue immunity under an immunopathological condition. | type 1 reaction (t1r) or reversal reaction is the leading cause of physical disabilities and deformities in leprosy. leprosy patients, even after being considered cured and released from treatment, may suffer from reactional episodes for long periods of time. early diagnosis is a great challenge for effectively treating and managing t1r. there is an urgent need to identify the most significant biomarkers to prevent recurrent t1r and to differentiate late t1r from relapse. t1r continues to be tre ... | 2015 | 25666357 |
| leprosy nephropathy: a review of clinical and histopathological features. | leprosy is a chronic disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, highly incapacitating, and with systemic involvement in some cases. renal involvement has been reported in all forms of the disease, and it is more frequent in multibacillary forms. the clinical presentation is variable and is determined by the host immunologic system reaction to the bacilli. during the course of the disease there are the so called reactional states, in which the immune system reacts against the bacilli, exacerbating t ... | 2017 | 25651321 |
| association of tnf -1031 c/c as a potential protection marker for leprosy development in amazonas state patients, brazil. | polymorphisms present in the tnf promoter region has shown to influence the gene transcription. leprosy displays different clinical manifestations according to the immune responses of the individual infected with mycobacterium leprae. in this study, we evaluated the single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) -238 g/a (rs361525), -308 g/a (rs1800629), -857 c/t (rs1799724), -863 a/c (rs1800630) and -1031 t/c (rs1799964) in the promoter region of the tnf to see whether these snps influence host-suscept ... | 2015 | 25636570 |
| the role of erbb2 gene polymorphisms in leprosy susceptibility. | mycobacterium leprae infects skin and peripheral nerves causing deformities and disability. the m. leprae bacterium binds to erbb2 on the schwann cell surface causing demyelination and favoring spread of the bacilli and causing nerve injury. polymorphisms at the erbb2 gene were previously investigated as genetic risk factors for leprosy in two brazilian populations but with inconsistent results. herein we extend the analysis of erbb2 variants to a third geographically distinct population in braz ... | 2015 | 25636184 |
| evaluation of a low-density hydrogel microarray technique for mycobacterial species identification. | in addition to the obligatory pathogenic species of the mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and mycobacterium leprae, the genus mycobacterium also includes conditionally pathogenic species that in rare cases can lead to the development of nontuberculous mycobacterial diseases. because tuberculosis and mycobacteriosis have similar clinical signs, the accurate identification of the causative agent in a clinical microbiology laboratory is important for diagnostic verification and appropriate treatme ... | 2015 | 25609722 |
| human leukocyte antigen class i and class ii alleles are associated with susceptibility and resistance in borderline leprosy patients from southeast brazil. | evidence suggests that human leukocyte antigen (hla) alleles influence the host immune response against mycobacterium leprae. however, the association between hla alleles and borderline (b) leprosy has not been studied. the aim of this study was to determine whether hla class i and ii molecules are associated with susceptibility or resistance to b leprosy including borderline-tuberculoid (bt), borderline-borderline (bb), and borderline-lepromatous (bl). | 2015 | 25605482 |
| molecular mimicry between mycobacterium leprae proteins (50s ribosomal protein l2 and lysyl-trna synthetase) and myelin basic protein: a possible mechanism of nerve damage in leprosy. | autoantibodies against various components of host are known to occur in leprosy. nerve damage is the primary cause of disability associated with leprosy. the aim of this study was to detect the level of autoantibodies and lympho-proliferative response against myelin basic protein (mbp) in leprosy patients (lps) and their correlation with clinical phenotypes of lps. further, probable role of molecular mimicry in nerve damage of lps was investigated. we observed significantly high level of anti-mb ... | 2015 | 25576930 |
| biosynthesis of cell envelope-associated phenolic glycolipids in mycobacterium marinum. | phenolic glycolipids (pgls) are polyketide synthase-derived glycolipids unique to pathogenic mycobacteria. pgls are found in several clinically relevant species, including various mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, mycobacterium leprae, and several nontuberculous mycobacterial pathogens, such as m. marinum. multiple lines of investigation implicate pgls in virulence, thus underscoring the relevance of a deep understanding of pgl biosynthesis. we report mutational and biochemical studies that in ... | 2015 | 25561717 |
| bacterial-induced cell reprogramming to stem cell-like cells: new premise in host-pathogen interactions. | bacterial pathogens employ a myriad of strategies to alter host tissue cell functions for bacterial advantage during infection. recent advances revealed a fusion of infection biology with stem cell biology by demonstrating developmental reprogramming of lineage committed host glial cells to progenitor/stem cell-like cells by an intracellular bacterial pathogen mycobacterium leprae. acquisition of migratory and immunomodulatory properties of such reprogrammed cells provides an added advantage for ... | 2015 | 25541240 |
| leprosy elimination: a myth busted. | leprosy is mainly a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. the disease mainly affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosa of the upper respiratory tract and eyes. though the target of leprosy elimination was achieved at national level in 2006 even then a large proportion of leprosy cases reported globally still constitute from india. | 2014 | 25540534 |
| association of the lrrk2 genetic polymorphisms with leprosy in han chinese from southwest china. | leprosy is a chronic infectious and neurological disease that is caused by infection of mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae). a recent genome-wide association study indicated a suggestive association of lrrk2 genetic variant rs1873613 with leprosy in chinese population. to validate this association and further identify potential causal variants of lrrk2 with leprosy, we genotyped 13 lrrk2 variants in 548 leprosy patients and 1078 healthy individuals from yunnan province and (re-)analyzed 3225 han ch ... | 2015 | 25521227 |
| drug resistance patterns in mycobacterium leprae isolates from relapsed leprosy patients attending the leprosy mission (tlm) hospitals in india. | implementation of multidrug therapy (mdt) in leprosy control programmes has significantly reduced the global prevalence of the disease in the last two decades. after many years of use of mdt, it is expected that drug resistance in mycobacterium leprae may emerge. this is a major concern, especially during the stage of elimination. in the present study, slit-skin smears were collected from 140 leprosy relapse cases from different leprosy mission hospitals across india. dna extracted from 111 (79% ... | 2014 | 25509718 |
| relationship between growth factors and its implication in the pathogenesis of leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae which affects the skin and peripheral nervous system. the immune response of the host determines the clinical course of the disease. the tuberculoid form is the result of high cell-mediated immunity characterized by a th1 response, whereas the lepromatous form is characterized by low cell-mediated immunity and a th2 humoral response. the neural damage established produces marked changes in the expression of growth factors suc ... | 2014 | 25457797 |
| the armadillo as an animal model and reservoir host for mycobacterium leprae. | apart from humans, armadillos are the only known natural hosts of mycobacterium leprae. they are well developed as hosts for in vivo propagation of m leprae and are advancing as models for studying the pathogenesis of leprosy and translational research. armadillos are immunologically intact. they exhibit the full ridley-jopling spectrum of histopathologic responses to m leprae and uniquely manifest extensive neurological involvement that closely recapitulates human leprosy. in addition, free-ran ... | 2014 | 25432816 |
| immunology of leprosy and diagnostic challenges. | leprosy, caused by noncultivable mycobacterium leprae (ml), has varied manifestations, which are associated with the host immune responses. the dermal involvement is accompanied by peripheral nerve damage, which leads to sensory motor loss and deformities. both innate and acquired immune responses are involved. the main cell to be compromised is the cd4 + t helper cell, which shows antigen specific unresponsiveness to only ml and not to other common antigens in the bacilliferous generalized lepr ... | 2015 | 25432814 |
| ocular leprosy. | ocular involvement in leprosy is estimated to be 70-75%, about 10-50% of leprosy patients suffer from severe ocular symptoms, and blindness occurs in about 5% of patients. the disease leads to many ophthalmologic symptoms and signs in the range of the eyeball itself, as well as of the bulb adnexa, ie, eyebrows, eyelids with eyelashes, and lacrimal drainage system. especially dangerous are complications of lagophthalmos and corneal hypoanesthesia, neurotrophic or infectious keratitis, and iridocy ... | 2014 | 25432813 |
| treatment of leprosy. | leprosy is a curable disease, having been eliminated from many countries, including india. this has been possible due to the wide availability of effective and safe drugs. treatment of leprosy has undergone considerable changes over decades, from chaulmoogra oil in 1915 to dapsone monotherapy in 1946, then eventually to multidrug therapy (mdt) in 1982. in the last two decades, reports of resistance to all first-line drugs have appeared in the literature, with the need to conduct clinical trials ... | 2014 | 25432811 |
| mechanisms of nerve injury in leprosy. | all patients with leprosy have some degree of nerve involvement. perineural inflammation is the histopathologic hallmark of leprosy, and this localization may reflect a vascular route of entry of mycobacterium leprae into nerves. once inside nerves, m. leprae are ingested by schwann cells, with a wide array of consequences. axonal atrophy may occur early in this process; ultimately, affected nerves undergo segmental demyelination. knowledge of the mechanisms of nerve injury in leprosy has been g ... | 2014 | 25432810 |
| histopathology of the lepromatous skin biopsy. | the histopathology of lepromatous skin varies according to the cell-mediated immunity of the host against mycobacterium leprae. in tuberculoid and borderline tuberculoid leprosy, epithelioid noncaseating granulomas predominate, and acid-fast bacilli (afb) are absent or only rarely present. in borderline lepromatous and lepromatous leprosy, the infiltrate is composed of macrophages with a vacuolar cytoplasm, lymphocytes, and plasma cells. afb are numerous. edema inside and outside the epithelioid ... | 2014 | 25432809 |
| clinical aspects of leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic, infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. it mainly affects the peripheral nervous system, skin, and certain other tissues such as the reticulo-endothelial system, bones and joints, mucous membranes, eyes, testes, muscles, and adrenals. leprosy clinical presentation varies from few to widespread lesions. in most patients, early leprosy presents as macular and hypopigmented lesions. this initial clinical presentation is known as indeterminate leprosy and occurs in i ... | 2014 | 25432808 |
| protecting people against leprosy: chemoprophylaxis and immunoprophylaxis. | elimination of leprosy cannot be achieved by multidrug therapy alone, and new tools are needed to prevent leprosy. a randomized controlled trial with chemoprophylaxis for contacts of leprosy patients using a single dose of rifampicin (sdr) has shown an overall protective effect of approximately 60%, effective in the first 2 years after the intervention. when a contact who previously received bacillus calmette-guérin (bcg) vaccination also receives sdr, the protective effect is additive, approxim ... | 2015 | 25432807 |
| lepra: various etiologies from miasma to bacteriology and genetics. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by a close relative of mycobacterium tuberculosis: mycobacterium leprae. there have been various beliefs in its etiology with two main concepts emerging: anticontagion and contagion. from ancient times through the early middle ages, the miasmatic theory of leprosy was the main anticontagion view. the development of histopathologic and cytologic studies in the second half of the 19th century provided a starting point to explain the etiology of lepros ... | 2014 | 25432805 |
| lack of association of the polymorphisms il-17a (-197g/a) and il-17f (+7488a/g) with multibacillary leprosy in mexican patients. | background. leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the intracellular acid-fast bacilli mycobacterium leprae; it has been determined that genetic factors of the host play an important role in the disease susceptibility. thus, in this case-control study, we evaluated the possible association between the il-17a g-197a (rs227593) and il-17f a7488g (his161arg, rs763780) gene snps and susceptibility to leprosy disease in mexican population. methods. seventy-five leprosy patients and sixty-n ... | 2014 | 25431761 |
| carbohydrate-dependent binding of langerin to sodc, a cell wall glycoprotein of mycobacterium leprae. | langerhans cells participate in the immune response in leprosy by their ability to activate t cells that recognize the pathogen, mycobacterium leprae, in a langerin-dependent manner. we hypothesized that langerin, the distinguishing c-type lectin of langerhans cells, would recognize the highly mannosylated structures in pathogenic mycobacterium spp. the coding region for the extracellular and neck domain of human langerin was cloned and expressed to produce a recombinant active trimeric form of ... | 2015 | 25422308 |
| diagnostic challenges of single plaque-like lesion paucibacillary leprosy. | the diagnosis of single-lesion paucibacillary leprosy remains a challenge. reviews by expert dermatopathologists and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qpcr) results obtained from 66 single-plaque biopsy samples were compared. histological findings were graded as high (hp), medium (mp) or low (lp) probability of leprosy or other dermatopathy (od). mycobacterium leprae-specific genes were detected using qpcr. the biopsies of 47 out of 57 clinically diagnosed patients who received multidrug t ... | 2014 | 25411000 |
| neural complications and physical disabilities in leprosy in a capital of northeastern brazil with high endemicity. | leprosy is an infectious disease whose etiologic agent is mycobacterium leprae, manifested by dermatological and neurological signs and symptoms. | 2014 | 25388490 |
| incidence of hansen's disease--united states, 1994-2011. | hansen's disease (hd), or leprosy, is caused by the bacterium mycobacterium leprae and is reportable in many states. it is a chronic disease affecting the skin and nerves, commonly presenting as pale or reddish skin patches with diminished sensation. without treatment, it can progress to a severely debilitating disease with nerve damage, tissue destruction, and functional loss. an important factor in limiting hd morbidity is early diagnosis and prompt initiation of therapy. because hd is rare, c ... | 2014 | 25356604 |
| diagnostic challenges of single plaque-like lesion paucibacillary leprosy. | the diagnosis of single-lesion paucibacillary leprosy remains a challenge. reviews by expert dermatopathologists and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qpcr) results obtained from 66 single-plaque biopsy samples were compared. histological findings were graded as high (hp), medium (mp) or low (lp) probability of leprosy or other dermatopathy (od). mycobacterium leprae-specific genes were detected using qpcr. the biopsies of 47 out of 57 clinically diagnosed patients who received multidrug t ... | 2014 | 25338157 |
| periodontal findings in patients with hansen's disease. | to find out whether there are any relationship between leprosy and periodontitis as evidenced by clinical parameters. | 2014 | 25312102 |
| identification of primary drug resistance to rifampin in mycobacterium leprae strains from leprosy patients in amazonas state, brazil. | the aim of this study was to identify polymorphisms in the folp1, gyra, and rpob genes in leprosy patients treated in amazonas state, brazil. among 197 slit-skin smear samples from untreated or relapsed patients, we found three cases of primary resistance to rifampin and one confirmed case of multidrug resistance. | 2014 | 25274993 |
| structural studies suggest a peptidoglycan hydrolase function for the mycobacterium tuberculosis tat-secreted protein rv2525c. | among the few proteins shown to be secreted by the tat system in mycobacterium tuberculosis, rv2525c is of particular interest, since its gene is conserved in the minimal genome of mycobacterium leprae. previous evidence linked this protein to cell wall metabolism and sensitivity to β-lactams. we describe here the crystal structure of rv2525c that shows a tim barrel-like fold characteristic of glycoside hydrolases of the gh25 family, which includes prokaryotic and phage-encoded peptidoglycan hyd ... | 2014 | 25260828 |
| nfκb activation in cutaneous lesions of leprosy is associated with development of multibacillary infection. | nuclear factor kappa b (nfκb) transcription factors play a central role in controlling the expression of genes involved in inflammatory reactions, proliferation, and survival of human cells. however, the in situ evaluation of nfκb activity in leprosy has not been completed previously. the aim of this study was to determine whether nfκb activity correlates with susceptibility or resistance to mycobacterium leprae infection in biopsies from skin lesions of 38 patients with the clinical and laborat ... | 2014 | 25258550 |
| analysis of the leprosy agents mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium lepromatosis in four countries. | to differentiate the leprosy agents mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium lepromatosis and correlate them with geographic distribution and clinicopathologic features. | 2014 | 25239420 |
| factors associated with neural alterations and physical disabilities in patients with leprosy in são luis, state of maranhão, brazil. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that is caused by mycobacterium leprae. the objective of this study was to evaluate the risk factors that are associated with neural alterations and physical disabilities in leprosy patients at the time of diagnosis. | 2014 | 25229291 |
| cxcl10, mcp-1, and other immunologic markers involved in neural leprosy. | nerve damage in leprosy can be directly induced by mycobacterium leprae in the early stages of infection, however, immunomediated mechanisms add gravity to the impairment of neural function in symptomatic periods of the disease. this study investigated the immunohistochemical expression of immunomarkers involved in the pathogenic mechanisms of leprosy nerve damage. these markers selected were cxcl10, ccl2 chemokines and immunomarkers as cd3, cd4, cd8, cd45ra, cd45ro, cd68, hla-dr, and metallopro ... | 2015 | 25221954 |
| il-10 and nos2 modulate antigen-specific reactivity and nerve infiltration by t cells in experimental leprosy. | although immunopathology dictates clinical outcome in leprosy, the dynamics of early and chronic infection are poorly defined. in the tuberculoid region of the spectrum, mycobacterium leprae growth is restricted yet a severe granulomatous lesion can occur. the evolution and maintenance of chronic inflammatory processes like those observed in the leprosy granuloma involve an ongoing network of communications via cytokines. il-10 has immunosuppressive properties and il-10 genetic variants have bee ... | 2014 | 25210773 |
| a report of rifampin-resistant leprosy from northern and eastern india: identification and in silico analysis of molecular interactions. | presence of point mutations within the drug resistance determining regions of mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) genome confers molecular basis of drug resistance to dapsone, rifampin and ofloxacin in leprosy. this study is focused on the identification of mutations within the rpob gene region of m. leprae that are specific for rifampin interaction, and further in silico analysis was carried out to determine the variations in the interactions. dna and rna were isolated from slit skin scrapings of ... | 2015 | 25201810 |
| benefits and limitations of fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis and classification of leprosy in primary and secondary healthcare settings. | the goal of the world health organization (who) is to eliminate leprosy as a public health problem. this will only be possible when all patients are detected and cured using multidrug therapy, which requires accurate diagnosis prior to treatment. the objective of this study was to evaluate the possibility of the diagnosis of leprosy lesions by fine needle aspiration cytology according to a modification of the ridley-jopling scale, as it can be used in primary and secondary healthcare centres, es ... | 2015 | 25196453 |
| pre-mir-146a (rs2910164 g>c) single nucleotide polymorphism is genetically and functionally associated with leprosy. | mycobacterium leprae infects macrophages and schwann cells inducing a gene expression program to facilitate its replication and progression to disease. micrornas (mirnas) are key regulators of gene expression and could be involved during the infection. to address the genetic influence of mirnas in leprosy, we enrolled 1,098 individuals and conducted a case-control analysis in order to study four mirnas genes containing single nucleotide polymorphism (mirsnp). we tested mirsnp-125a (rs12975333 g> ... | 2014 | 25187983 |
| case for diagnosis. | hansen's disease is a chronic infecto-contagious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. the bacillus prefers low-temperature areas and the nose is usually the initial site of lesions. transmission of the bacilli occurs by nasal and oropharyngeal secretions, and through solutions of continuity of the skin and/or mucosae. nasal manifestations are found in the later stages of the disease. | 2015 | 25184933 |
| evaluation of novel tools to facilitate the detection and characterization of leprosy patients in china. | leprosy is the disabling outcome of chronic infection with mycobacterium leprae. the disease often evades early detection, particularly now that fewer clinicians are able to confidently diagnose the disease following the integration of leprosy control measures within general health services in many countries. although leprosy is officially eliminated in china, endemic regions remain in some difficult-to-reach, underdeveloped areas in southwest china. in order to better understand the extent of m ... | 2014 | 25184137 |
| lepromatous leprosy and perianal tuberculosis: a case report and literature review. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, a microorganism that usually affects skin and nerves. although it is usually well-controlled by multidrug therapy (mdt), the disease may be aggravated by acute inflammatory reaction episodes that cause permanent tissue damage particularly to peripheral nerves. tuberculosis is predominantly a disease of the lungs; however, it may spread to other organs and cause an extrapulmonary infection. both mycobacterial infections are e ... | 2014 | 25180030 |
| tinea barbae: in released from treatment (rft) hansen's disease patient. | hansen disease (leprosy) is a chronic inflammatory infectious disease that primarily targets skin, nerves and other internal organs (testis, liver etc.) caused by the acid fast intracellular bacilli, mycobacterium leprae. clinical presentation occurs with a wide spectrum including hypo pigmented anaesthetic patches, raised erythematous plaques and nodules and thickened peripheral nerves showing tenderness. the most important complication is the disability and deformity. the diagnosis of leprosy ... | 2014 | 25177622 |
| phage display and synthetic peptides as promising biotechnological tools for the serological diagnosis of leprosy. | the diagnosis of leprosy is primarily based on clinical manifestations, and there is no widely available laboratory test for the early detection of this disease, which is caused by mycobacterium leprae. in fact, early detection and treatment are the key elements to the successful control of leprosy. | 2014 | 25170947 |
| apoptotic activity and treg cells in tissue lesions of patients with leprosy. | in order to understand the apoptotic response and the participation of treg cells in the spectral clinical evolution of leprosy, this study evaluated the immunohistochemical expression of caspase-3 and foxp3 in skin lesions of leprosy patients with the polar forms of the disease. forty-nine patients with a confirmed diagnosis of the disease were selected, including 27 with the tt form and 22 with the ll form. quantitative analysis of caspase-3 immunostaining showed a higher expression of this me ... | 2014 | 25128092 |
| serum th1/th2 and macrophage lineage cytokines in leprosy; correlation with circulating cd4(+) cd25(high) foxp3(+) t-regs cells. | not only macrophages, t-helper (th)1 and th2, but also cd4(+) cd25(high) foxp3(+) regulatory t cells (t-regs) are involved in immune response to mycobacterium leprae. we aimed to evaluate serum interleukin (il)-1β and il-12p70 (macrophage cytokines), interferon-γ (ifn-γ) (th1 cytokine), il-4 (th2 cytokine) and circulating cd4(+) cd25(high) foxp3(+) t-regs, in untreated leprosy patients. forty three patients and 40 controls were assessed for the mentioned cytokines using elisa. patients were asse ... | 2014 | 25109693 |
| analysis of antigens of mycobacterium leprae by interaction to sera igg, igm, and iga response to improve diagnosis of leprosy. | till 2010, several countries have declared less than one leprosy patient among population of 10,000 and themselves feeling as eliminated from leprosy cases. however, new leprosy cases are still appearing from all these countries. in this situation one has to be confident to diagnose leprosy. this review paper highlighted already explored antigens for diagnosis purposes and finally suggested better combinations of protein antigens of m. leprae versus immunoglobulin as detector antibody to be usef ... | 2014 | 25101267 |
| [rapid detection of mutations related to mycobacterium leprae drug resistance by using hp-rpcr (hairpin primer- real time pcr) method]. | rapid and simple detection method of drug resistance bacteria is required. in the present study, hp-rpcr (hairpin primer-real time pcr) was applied to mycobacterium leprae genes to detect mutations. target sites of the method were as follows: first base and second base on 53rd codon and second base on 55th codon infolp1 gene for dapsone resistance, first base on 441st codon and 451st codon and second base on 456th and 458th codon in rpob gene for rifampicin resistance, and first base on 89th cod ... | 2014 | 25076760 |
| detection of mycobacterium leprae by pcr testing of sputa from a patient with pulmonary cryptococcus coinfection in northern australia. | a case of fever, sepsis, and chest lesions evident on a computed tomography scan of an indigenous man in northern australia following burns to the feet is described. sputum pcr testing revealed mycobacterium leprae, and a fine-needle aspirate of the chest lesions demonstrated cryptococcus coinfection. | 2014 | 25056325 |
| evaluation of major membrane protein-i as a serodiagnostic tool of pauci-bacillary leprosy. | we have previously shown that the serodiagnosis using major membrane protein-ii (mmp-ii) is quite efficient in diagnosing leprosy. however, the detection rate of pauci-bacillary (pb) leprosy patients is still low. in this study, we examined the usefulness of major membrane protein-i (mmp-i) from mycobacterium leprae. the mmp-i-based serodiagnosis did not show significantly high detection rate. however, when the mixture of mmp-i and mmp-ii antigens was used, we detected 94.4% of multi-bacillary l ... | 2014 | 25041703 |
| lichen scrofulosorum caused by mycobacterium leprae: first report. | tuberculides are skin lesions caused by the hematogeneous dissemination of mycobacterium tuberculosis. bacilli are rapidly destroyed in the skin and are thus neither visible histologically nor identifiable by culture. diagnosis depends on previous knowledge of systemic and/or cutaneous tuberculosis. lichen scrofulosorum (ls), the most uncommon variant of tuberculid, is usually associated with m. tuberculosis infection of lymph nodes or bone but was also reported in association with other mycobac ... | 2014 | 25041689 |
| mycobacterium leprae in bone marrow. | | 2017 | 25031172 |
| mapping genetic variants in the cfh gene for association with leprosy in han chinese. | complement factor h (cfh) is an essential regulator in the homeostasis of the complement system that plays multiple roles in leprosy. we previously reported a preliminary association of cfh with leprosy, but potentially causal variants remain to be identified. in this study, we performed a fine-mapping association analysis in 1110 individuals (527 leprosy patients and 583 controls) followed by bioinformatic analyses. we identified no association of typical missense cfh variants with leprosy and ... | 2014 | 25030427 |
| protection against mycobacterium leprae infection by the id83/gla-se and id93/gla-se vaccines developed for tuberculosis. | despite the dramatic reduction in the number of leprosy cases worldwide in the 1990s, transmission of the causative agent, mycobacterium leprae, is still occurring, and new cases continue to appear. new strategies are required in the pursuit of leprosy elimination. the cross-application of vaccines in development for tuberculosis may lead to tools applicable to elimination of leprosy. in this report, we demonstrate that the chimeric fusion proteins id83 and id93, developed as antigens for tuberc ... | 2014 | 25024362 |