| nlrp1 haplotypes associated with leprosy in brazilian patients. | polymorphisms in innate immunity genes are known to be involved in the multifactorial susceptibility to mycobacterium leprae infection. m. leprae can downregulate il-1β secretion escaping monocyte digestion. the intracellular receptors nlrps (nacht, lrr and pyd domains-containing proteins) sense pathogen associated molecular patterns (pamps) activating caspase-1 and il-1β secretion in the context of inflammasome. considering the possible role of inflammasome in the immune response against m. lep ... | 2013 | 23770116 |
| genome-wide comparison of medieval and modern mycobacterium leprae. | leprosy was endemic in europe until the middle ages. using dna array capture, we have obtained genome sequences of mycobacterium leprae from skeletons of five medieval leprosy cases from the united kingdom, sweden, and denmark. in one case, the dna was so well preserved that full de novo assembly of the ancient bacterial genome could be achieved through shotgun sequencing alone. the ancient m. leprae sequences were compared with those of 11 modern strains, representing diverse genotypes and geog ... | 2013 | 23765279 |
| primary dapsone resistant mycobacterium leprae in a non endemic country. | | 2013 | 23760326 |
| biomarkers for leprosy: would you prefer t (cells)? | the need for rapid diagnostic tests that can be applied in non-expert settings may now be greater than ever before, due to changes in leprosy control programmes and the decrease in special expertise required for (early) diagnosis of leprosy. however, there is no test available that can detect asymptomatic mycobacterium leprae infection or predict progression of infection to clinical disease. the characteristics of the leprosy disease spectrum, in which both cellular and humoral immunity against ... | 2013 | 23741878 |
| active search for leprosy cases in midwestern brazil: a serological evaluation of asymptomatic household contacts before and after prophylaxis with bacillus calmette-guérin. | leprosy is a disease caused by mycobacterium leprae that carries a high risk of disability, making early diagnosis mandatory. this study aimed to determine the applicability of anti-pgl-1 igm antibody detection, using the ml flow technique, as an assistant tool for the detection of leprosy infection in asymptomatic household contacts (ahhc) of multibacillary leprosy index cases from midwest brazil. serological changes induced by the prophylaxis of these household contacts with bacillus calmette- ... | 2013 | 23740009 |
| [leprosy, a pillar of human genetics of infectious diseases]. | despite a natural reservoir of mycobacterium leprae limited to humans and free availability of an effective antibiotic treatment, more than 200,000 people develop leprosy each year. this disease remains a major cause of disability and social stigma worldwide. the cause of this constant incidence is currently unknown and indicates that important aspects of the complex relationship between the pathogen and its human host remain to be discovered. an important contribution of host genetics to suscep ... | 2013 | 23711949 |
| gerhard henrik armauer hansen (1841-1912)--100 years anniversary tribute. | 2012 marks the 100th year of death of gerhard henrik armauer hansen (1841-1912), who discovered mycobacterium leprae, but also gave the first systematic scientific work on the leprosy of the eye. the article reviews his life and scientific achievements with special regard to eye and ophthalmology. | 2014 | 23710612 |
| an attempt to improve pure neural leprosy diagnosis using immunohistochemistry tests in peripheral nerve biopsy specimens. | the diagnosis of pure neural leprosy (pnl) is based on clinical and laboratory data, including the histopathology of nerve biopsy specimens and detection of mycobacterium leprae dna by polymerase chain reaction (pcr). given that histopathologic examination and pcr methods may not be sufficient to confirm the diagnosis, immunolabeling of lipoarabinomanan (lam) and/or phenolic glycolipid 1 (pgl-1) m. leprae wall components was utilized in the present investigation in an attempt to detect any vesti ... | 2014 | 23702646 |
| lepromatous leprosy: a rare presentation in australia. | leprosy (hansen's disease) is caused by the obligate intracellular organism mycobacterium leprae. it is an infectious, chronic granulomatous disease transmitted through close contact. the latest current data shows that in 2010, eleven new cases of leprosy were reported to the national notifiable diseases surveillance system in australia. we report the case of a patient with untreated chronic lepromatous leprosy diagnosed in queensland, 2012. delay in diagnosis may have been due to the rarity of ... | 2013 | 23671461 |
| interaction of mycobacterium leprae with human airway epithelial cells: adherence, entry, survival, and identification of potential adhesins by surface proteome analysis. | this study examined the in vitro interaction between mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, and human alveolar and nasal epithelial cells, demonstrating that m. leprae can enter both cell types and that both are capable of sustaining bacterial survival. moreover, delivery of m. leprae to the nasal septum of mice resulted in macrophage and epithelial cell infection in the lung tissue, sustaining the idea that the airways constitute an important m. leprae entry route into the human ... | 2013 | 23670556 |
| detection and strain typing of ancient mycobacterium leprae from a medieval leprosy hospital. | nine burials excavated from the magdalen hill archaeological research project (mharp) in winchester, uk, showing skeletal signs of lepromatous leprosy (ll) have been studied using a multidisciplinary approach including osteological, geochemical and biomolecular techniques. dna from mycobacterium leprae was amplified from all nine skeletons but not from control skeletons devoid of indicative pathology. in several specimens we corroborated the identification of m. leprae with detection of mycolic ... | 2013 | 23638071 |
| nanobiotechnological approaches to delivery of dna vaccine against fungal infection. | vaccines play an essential role in keeping humans healthy. innovative approaches to their use include the utilization of plasmid dna encoding sequences to express foreign antigens. dnahsp65 from mycobacterium leprae is suitable for this purpose due to its ability to elicit a powerful immune response. controlled release systems represent a promising approach to delivering vaccines. in this work, we used liposomes or plga systems to deliver dnahsp65 to treat the pulmonary fungal infection paracocc ... | 2013 | 23627048 |
| influence of intron ii microsatellite polymorphism in human toll-like receptor 2 gene in leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by the obligate intracellular organism mycobacterium leprae. tlr2 plays a key role when activated by m. leprae lipoproteins initiating protective responses which induce bacterial killing and therefore control of disease spread. microsatellite polymorphisms in intron2 of tlr2 gene have been reported to be associated with development of clinical features of several infectious diseases. the study aims to evaluate the influence of gt microsatellite ... | 2013 | 23619473 |
| deformities due to leprosy in children under fifteen years old as an indicator of quality of the leprosy control programme in brazilian municipalities. | the present study aims at analysing the degree of deformity in leprosy cases diagnosed in children under 15 years old and its relationship with operational and epidemiological factors. this epidemiological cross-sectional study was carried out at municipalities of three microregions in a brazilian hyperendemic area. data between 1998 and 2010 was collected from the information system for notifiable diseases database. the average coefficient of detection was 32.96/100.000 inhabitants; 7.61% of ne ... | 2013 | 23577038 |
| role of cd8(+) t cells in triggering reversal reaction in hiv/leprosy patients. | it has been reported that the initiation of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (haart) is associated with the development of reversal reaction (rr) in co-infected hiv/leprosy patients. nevertheless, the impact of hiv and haart on the cellular immune response to mycobacterium leprae (ml) remains unknown. in the present study, we observed that ex vivo peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmcs) of both rr and rr/hiv patients presented increased percentages of activated cd4(+) t cells when compar ... | 2013 | 23566249 |
| leprosy and its dental management guidelines. | leprosy is a chronic, non-fatal disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. it can cause cutaneous lesions, peripheral nerve lesions and orofacial manifestations, including destruction of the alveolar premaxillary process associated with loss of the maxillary incisors. the aims of this study were to assess orofacial manifestations of disease in patients attending the bombay leprosy project clinics and develop clinical guidelines for dentists. | 2013 | 23550518 |
| toll-like receptor 1 n248s single-nucleotide polymorphism is associated with leprosy risk and regulates immune activation during mycobacterial infection. | conflicting findings about the association between leprosy and tlr1 variants n248s and i602s have been reported. here, we performed case-control and family based studies, followed by replication in 2 case-control populations from brazil, involving 3162 individuals. results indicated an association between tlr1 248s and leprosy in the case-control study (ss genotype odds ratio [or], 1.81; p = .004) and the family based study (z = 2.02; p = .05). this association was consistently replicated in oth ... | 2013 | 23547143 |
| challenges in immunodiagnostic tests for leprosy. | despite the effectiveness of multidrug therapy, leprosy still represents a significant global health problem: transmission of mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) is not sufficiently reduced as witnessed by unwavering new case rates in leprosy-endemic countries. early detection of m. leprae infection (before clinical manifestations occur) is vital to reduction of transmission. current diagnosis relies on detection of clinical signs since there are no tests available to detect asymptomatic m. leprae ... | 2013 | 23537134 |
| active surveillance of hansen's disease (leprosy): importance for case finding among extra-domiciliary contacts. | hansen's disease (leprosy) remains an important health problem in brazil, where 34,894 new cases were diagnosed in 2010, corresponding to 15.3% of the world's new cases detected in that year. the purpose of this study was to use home visits as a tool for surveillance of hansen's disease in a hyperendemic area in brazil. a total of 258 residences were visited with 719 individuals examined. of these, 82 individuals had had a previous history of hansen's disease, 209 were their household contacts a ... | 2013 | 23516645 |
| transforming growth factor-β1 may be a key mediator of the fibrogenic properties of neural cells in leprosy. | fibrosis is the main cause of irreversible nerve damage in leprosy. phenotypic changes in mycobacterium leprae (ml)-infected schwann cells (scs) have been suggested to mediate this process. we found that sc line cultures stimulated with ml upregulated transforming growth factor-β1 (tgf-β1), and that tgf-β1 or ml induced increased numbers of α-smooth muscle actin (α-sma)-positive cells with characteristic stress fibers. mycobacterium leprae and tgf-β1 also induced increased type i collagen and fi ... | 2013 | 23481710 |
| leprosy--evolution of the path to eradication. | leprosy is among the world's oldest and most dreaded diseases and it has been synonymous with stigma and discrimination due to the hideous deformities it produced, mystery around its aetiology and transmission and lack of any effective remedy till recently. leprosy control started with the use of chaulmoogra oil and for the last three decades, multi drug therapy (mdt) has been our main tool against leprosy. in the last two decades, the reported global prevalence of active leprosy infection has d ... | 2013 | 23481049 |
| whole-blood nested-pcr amplification of m. leprae-specific dna for early diagnosis of leprosy. | we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of a nested-polymerase chain reaction (pcr) method for detection of mycobacterium leprae dna from whole blood. whole-blood specimens were subjected to nested-pcr amplification of m. leprae repeat dna sequences in 49 multibacillary (mb) and 30 paucibacillary (pb) leprosy patients, 96 household contacts (hhcs), 18 tuberculosis (tb) patients, and 35 normal healthy individuals. m. leprae dna was detected in 95.92% (47/49) of mb, 70% (21/30) of pb, and 6.2 ... | 2013 | 23478578 |
| mycobacterium leprae is identified in the oral mucosa from paucibacillary and multibacillary leprosy patients. | in leprosy, the nasal mucosa is considered as the principal route of transmission for the bacillus mycobacterium leprae. the objective of this study was to identify m. leprae in the oral mucosa of 50 untreated leprosy patients, including 21 paucibacillary (pb) and 29 multibacillary (mb) patients, using immunohistochemistry (ihc), with antibodies against bacillus calmette-guérin (bcg) and phenolic glycolipid antigen-1 (pgl-1), and polymerase chain reaction (pcr), with mnth-specific primers for m. ... | 2014 | 23473290 |
| a comparison of stigma among patients with leprosy in rural tanzania and urban united states: a role for public health in dermatology. | leprosy is a chronic infection of the skin and peripheral nerves caused by the bacterium mycobacterium leprae, which causes peripheral insensitivity and disfigurements of the skin, limbs, and digits. social stigma is a common consequence of leprosy and may differ according to level of physical disfigurement and geographic location. the objective of this study was to assess social stigma encountered by patients with leprosy in clinical settings located in rural tanzania and urban usa and to compa ... | 2013 | 23451850 |
| type i interferon suppresses type ii interferon-triggered human anti-mycobacterial responses. | type i interferons (ifn-α and ifn-β) are important for protection against many viral infections, whereas type ii interferon (ifn-γ) is essential for host defense against some bacterial and parasitic pathogens. study of ifn responses in human leprosy revealed an inverse correlation between ifn-β and ifn-γ gene expression programs. ifn-γ and its downstream vitamin d-dependent antimicrobial genes were preferentially expressed in self-healing tuberculoid lesions and mediated antimicrobial activity a ... | 2013 | 23449998 |
| lsr2 of mycobacterium leprae and its synthetic peptides elicit restitution of t cell responses in erythema nodosum leprosum and reversal reactions in patients with lepromatous leprosy. | the lsr2 protein of mycobacterium leprae and its synthetic peptides have been shown to elicit lymphoproliferation and gamma interferon (ifn-γ) release by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmcs) of patients with lepromatous leprosy (m. chaduvula, a. murtaza, n. misra, n. p. narayan, v. ramesh, h. k. prasad, r. rani, r. k. chinnadurai, i. nath, infect. immun. 80:742-752, 2012). pbmcs from 16 patients with lepromatous leprosy who were undergoing erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) (type 2) and 5 pat ... | 2013 | 23446220 |
| early revelation of leprosy in china by sequential antibody analyses with lid-1 and pgl-i. | leprosy is a disabling chronic infection, with insidious onset that often evades early detection. in order to detect new leprosy cases in a timely manner, we conducted surveillance visits in some difficult-to-reach mountain areas in south west china where the disease is still prevalent. our data confirm that chinese multibacillary (mb) leprosy patients have strong antibody responses against mycobacterium leprae antigens nd-o-bsa and lid-1. contacts of clinically diagnosed patients were then moni ... | 2013 | 23431316 |
| cellular microbiology: mycobacterium leprae turns back the clock. | | 2013 | 23385722 |
| cellular microbiology: mycobacterium leprae turns back the clock. | | 2013 | 23377499 |
| identification of mimotopes of mycobacterium leprae as potential diagnostic reagents. | an early diagnostic test for detecting infection in leprosy is fundamental for reducing patients' sequelae. the currently used lepromin is not adequate for disease diagnosis and, so far, no antigen to be used in intradermoreaction has proved to be sensitive and specific for that purpose. aiming at identifying new reagents to be used in skin tests, candidate antigens were investigated. | 2013 | 23351151 |
| park2 mediates interleukin 6 and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 production by human macrophages. | leprosy is a persistent infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae that still affects over 200,000 new patients annually. the host genetic background is an important risk factor for leprosy susceptibility and the park2 gene is a replicated leprosy susceptibility candidate gene. the protein product of park2, parkin, is an e3 ubiquitin ligase that is involved in the development of various forms of parkinsonism. the human macrophage is both a natural host cell of m. leprae as well as a prima ... | 2013 | 23350010 |
| single nucleotide polymorphisms typing of mycobacterium leprae reveals focal transmission of leprosy in high endemic regions of india. | earlier studies indicate that genotyping of mycobaterium leprae based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) is useful for analysis of the global spread of leprosy. in the present study, we investigated the diversity of m. leprae at eight snp loci using 180 clinical isolates obtained from patients with leprosy residing mainly in delhi and purulia (west bengal) regions. it was observed that the frequency of snp type 1 and subtype d was most predominant in the indian population. further, the sn ... | 2013 | 23331718 |
| an unusual cause of mononeuritis multiplex. | a middle-aged man of south asian decent presented with a 4-month history of bilateral sensory disturbance affecting the median nerve distribution and dorsum of both feet. neurological examination was otherwise normal. a patchy absence of sensory responses was noted on nerve conduction studies and electromyogram (ncs/emg). over the next 3 months sensory symptoms progressed to involve median, radial, ulnar, sural and peroneal nerves bilaterally. repeat ncs/emg confirmed a mononeuritis multiplex pr ... | 2013 | 23315459 |
| mycobacterium leprae in colombia described by snp7614 in gyra, two minisatellites and geography. | new cases of leprosy are still being detected in colombia after the country declared achievement of the who defined 'elimination' status. to study the ecology of leprosy in endemic regions, a combination of geographic and molecular tools were applied for a group of 201 multibacillary patients including six multi-case families from eleven departments. the location (latitude and longitude) of patient residences were mapped. slit skin smears and/or skin biopsies were collected and dna was extracted ... | 2013 | 23291420 |
| molecular, ethno-spatial epidemiology of leprosy in china: novel insights for tracing leprosy in endemic and non endemic provinces. | leprosy continues to be detected at near stable rates in china even with established control programs, necessitating new knowledge and alternative methods to interrupt transmission. a molecular epidemiology investigation of 190 patients was undertaken to define mycobacterium leprae strain types and discern genetic relationships and clusters in endemic and non-endemic regions spanning seventeen provinces and two autonomous regions. the findings support multiple locus variable number of tandem rep ... | 2013 | 23291419 |
| galectin-3 regulates the innate immune response of human monocytes. | galectin-3 is a β-galactoside-binding lectin widely expressed on epithelial and hematopoietic cells, and its expression is frequently associated with a poor prognosis in cancer. because it has not been well-studied in human infectious disease, we examined galectin-3 expression in mycobacterial infection by studying leprosy, an intracellular infection caused by mycobacterium leprae. galectin-3 was highly expressed on macrophages in lesions of patients with the clinically progressive lepromatous f ... | 2013 | 23255567 |
| il12b snps and copy number variation in il23r gene associated with susceptibility to leprosy. | genome-wide studies have identified both human leucocyte antigen (hla) and non-hla regions in association with leprosy. involvement of novel functional loci within these regions has been proposed by us earlier. | 2013 | 23240095 |
| clofazimine modulates the expression of lipid metabolism proteins in mycobacterium leprae-infected macrophages. | mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) lives and replicates within macrophages in a foamy, lipid-laden phagosome. the lipids provide essential nutrition for the mycobacteria, and m. leprae infection modulates expression of important host proteins related to lipid metabolism. thus, m. leprae infection increases the expression of adipophilin/adipose differentiation-related protein (adrp) and decreases hormone-sensitive lipase (hsl), facilitating the accumulation and maintenance of lipid-rich environment ... | 2012 | 23236531 |
| development and pre-clinical assessment of a 73 kd chimeric fusion protein as a defined sub-unit vaccine for leprosy. | despite the advances toward the elimination of leprosy through widespread provision of multi-drug therapy to registered patients over the last 2 decades, new case detection rates have stabilized and leprosy remains endemic in a number of localized regions. a vaccine could overcome the inherent limitations of the drug treatment program by providing protection in individuals who are not already harboring the mycobacterium leprae bacilli at the time of administration and effectively interrupt the t ... | 2013 | 23228811 |
| the armadillo: a model for the neuropathy of leprosy and potentially other neurodegenerative diseases. | leprosy (also known as hansen's disease) is an infectious peripheral neurological disorder caused by mycobacterium leprae that even today leaves millions of individuals worldwide with life-long disabilities. the specific mechanisms by which this bacterium induces nerve injury remain largely unknown, mainly owing to ethical and practical limitations in obtaining affected human nerve samples. in addition to humans, nine-banded armadillos (dasypus novemcinctus) are the only other natural host of m. ... | 2013 | 23223615 |
| clinically unsuspected neuritic leprosy with caseation necrosis. | leprosy is a devastating disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. it includes a spectrum of clinicopathological lesions. neuritic leprosy with caseation necrosis (abscess) manifesting as a soft tissue mass is a relatively rare presentation of leprosy. here, the authors report their experience with three patients with neuritic leprosy. the patients presented with swellings in the right ulnar nerve, the right great auricular nerve, and the temporal branch of the right sixth cranial nerve. the clini ... | 2012 | 23216235 |
| the immunological skin tests in leprosy. part i. the isolation of a protein antigen of mycobacterium leprae. 1942. | | 2012 | 23210149 |
| lipid droplets and mycobacterium leprae infection. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease and is a major source of morbidity in developing countries. leprosy is caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium mycobacterium leprae, which infects as primary target schwann cells. lepromatous leprosy exhibits multiple lesions of the skin, eyes, nerves, and lymph nodes. the sites of infection are characterized by the presence of foamy macrophages, fully packed with lipid droplets (lds), which are induced by m. leprae. in the last years, it has become ... | 2012 | 23209912 |
| minocycline-induced hyperpigmentation in multibacillary leprosy. | minocycline has been used in the treatment of leprosy since the demonstration of its efficacy in inhibiting mycobacterium leprae growth in 1987. hyperpigmentation, a well-documented adverse effect, classically shows 3 clinical and histological patterns: type i consists of blue-black pigmentation in areas of current or previous inflammation, type ii consists of blue-gray pigmentation of normal skin, often seen on the legs, and type iii consists of diffuse muddy-brown pigmentation accentuated on s ... | 2012 | 23169418 |
| human beta-defensin 3 is up-regulated in cutaneous leprosy type 1 reactions. | leprosy, a chronic granulomatous disease affecting the skin and nerves, is caused by mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae). the type of leprosy developed depends upon the host immune response. type 1 reactions (t1rs), that complicate borderline and lepromatous leprosy, are due to an increase in cell-mediated immunity and manifest as nerve damage and skin inflammation. owing to the increase in inflammation in the skin of patients with t1rs, we sought to investigate the activation of the innate immune ... | 2012 | 23133681 |
| molecular mimicry between hsp 65 of mycobacterium leprae and cytokeratin 10 of the host keratin; role in pathogenesis of leprosy. | mycobacteria are known to induce autoimmune response in the host. anti-host keratrin antibodies (akabs) might be responsible for the autoimmune phenomena in leprosy patients as majority of leprosy lesions are manifested in the skin and occurrence of keratosis is not an uncommon feature. the aim of this study was to find out the level of akabs in leprosy patients across the spectrum and to explore its correlation with the clinical manifestation of the disease. further, mimicking epitopes of kerat ... | 2012 | 23121977 |
| severe leprosy reactions due to mycobacterium lepromatosis. | leprosy is caused by the well-known mycobacterium leprae and the newly discovered m lepromatosis. here, the authors describe 2 cases of leprosy with unusual clinical presentation caused by m lepromatosis. the patients, a 32-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman, both of mexican origin, manifested high fever, lymphadenopathy and florid skin lesions in the form of erythema nodosum and lucio's phenomenon as the first clinical presentation. heavy infiltration of acid-fast bacilli was identified in th ... | 2013 | 23111393 |
| impact of amino acid substitutions in b subunit of dna gyrase in mycobacterium leprae on fluoroquinolone resistance. | ofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone (fq) used for the treatment of leprosy. fqs are known to interact with both a and b subunits of dna gyrase and inhibit supercoiling activity of this enzyme. mutations conferring fq resistance have been reported to be found only in the gene encoding a subunit of this enzyme (gyra) of m. leprae, although there are many reports on the fq resistance-associated mutation in gyrb in other bacteria, including m. tuberculosis, a bacterial species in the same genus as m. lep ... | 2012 | 23071850 |
| albinism and disease causing pathogens in tanzania: are alleles that are associated with oca2 being maintained by balancing selection? | oculocutaneous albinism type 2 (oca2) is present at significantly higher frequencies in sub-saharan african populations compared to populations in other regions of the world. in tanzania and other sub-saharan countries, most oca2 is associated with a common 2.7kb deletion allele. leprosy is also in high prevalence in sub-saharan african populations. the infectious agent of leprosy, mycobacterium leprae, contains a gene, 38l, that is similar to oca2. hypopigmented patches of skin are early sympto ... | 2012 | 23063908 |
| development and characterization of a new oral dapsone nanoemulsion system: permeability and in silico bioavailability studies. | dapsone is described as being active against mycobacterium leprae, hence its role in the treatment of leprosy and related pathologies. despite its therapeutic potential, the low solubility of dapsone in water results in low bioavailability and high microbial resistance. nanoemulsions are pharmaceutical delivery systems derived from micellar solutions with a good capacity for improving absorption. the aim of this work was to develop and compare the permeability of a series of dapsone nanoemulsion ... | 2012 | 23055729 |
| [collaboration between korea and japan for basic research on leprosy]. | new case detection in japan has been markedly decreased and same trends have been also shown in korea. despite of unfavorable circumstances, research activities are still continuing and we have the accumulation of knowledge on leprosy both in japan and korea. following basic studies for leprosy on going in japan were reviewed. 1. analysis of drug resistance mechanism and its application for clinical samples. 2. establishment of early diagnostic technique. 3. clarification of mechanisms of neurop ... | 2012 | 23012849 |
| genotyping of mycobacterium leprae in myanmar and possible transmission modes. | the polymorphism of ttc repeats in mycobacterium leprae was examined using bacilli from slit skin samples of leprosy patients attending at central special skin clinic, yangon general hospital and nasal swabs of their contacts to elucidate the possible mode of leprosy transmission. it was found that bacilli with different ttc genotypes were distributed among same household contacts and also harbored bacilli in patients were different ttc genotype from that harbored on the nasal mucus of the healt ... | 2012 | 23012847 |
| leprosy: an overview of pathophysiology. | leprosy, also known as hansen's disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, a microorganism that has a predilection for the skin and nerves. the disease is clinically characterized by one or more of the three cardinal signs: hypopigmented or erythematous skin patches with definite loss of sensation, thickened peripheral nerves, and acid-fast bacilli detected on skin smears or biopsy material. m. leprae primarily infects schwann cells in the peripheral nerves leading ... | 2012 | 22988457 |
| knowledge of the patients regarding leprosy and adherence to treatment. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. it is known for its great disfiguring capacity and is considered an extremely serious disease to public health worldwide. the state of ceará ranks 13th in number of cases of leprosy in brazil, and fourth in northeastern region, with an average of 2,149 new cases diagnosed every year. this study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of leprosy patients regarding treatment, and to assess the level of treatment adherence and its poss ... | 2012 | 22980586 |
| susceptibility to leprosy is associated with m-ficolin polymorphisms. | mycobacterium leprae exploits complement activation and opsonophagocytosis to infect phagocytes. m-ficolin is encoded by the fcn1 gene and initiates the lectin pathway on monocyte surfaces. we investigated fcn1 promoter polymorphisms that could be responsible for the high interindividual variability of m-ficolin levels and for modulating leprosy susceptibility. | 2013 | 22941510 |
| peroneus longus transfer for drop foot in hansen disease. | leprosy or hansen's disease is a chronic infectious disease caused by the mycobacterium leprae. nerve injury is a central feature of the pathogenesis of leprosy that results in autonomic, sensory and motor neuropathy. one of the most common secondary disabilities caused by hansen's disease is the drop foot and it is found in 2% to 5% of newly-diagnosed leprosy patients. unlike the clinical picture of traumatic injury of the common peroneal nerve where both of its branches (the deep peroneal nerv ... | 2012 | 22938641 |
| microbial heat shock protein 65 attenuates airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation by modulating the function of dendritic cells. | heat shock proteins (hsps), produced in response to stress, are suppressive in disease models. we previously showed that mycobacterium leprae hsp65 prevented development of airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation in mice. our goal in this study was to define the mechanism responsible for the suppressive effects of hsp. in one in vivo approach, balb/c mice were sensitized to ova, followed by primary ova challenges. several weeks later, hsp65 was administered prior to a single, provocative sec ... | 2012 | 22933632 |
| leprosy and rheumatoid arthritis: consequence or association? | leprosy or hansen's disease is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae with a high prevalence in some developing countries however, it is rarely seen in non-endemic regions. arthritis has been described in all types of hansen's disease. chronic arthritis is known to exist even in paucibacillary forms, resolved or treated disease and in patients without reaction, suggesting a perpetuated inflammatory process. in these cases leprosy can mimic some autoimmune disea ... | 2012 | 22891014 |
| detection of antibiotic resistance in leprosy using genotype lepraedr, a novel ready-to-use molecular test. | although leprosy is efficiently treated by multidrug therapy, resistance to first-line (dapsone, rifampin) and to second-line drugs (fluoroquinolones) was described worldwide. since mycobacterium leprae is not growing in vitro, phenotypic susceptibility testing requires a one year experiment in the mouse model and this is rarely performed. genetics on antibiotic resistance provide the basis for molecular tests able to detect for antibiotic resistance in leprosy. | 2012 | 22860144 |
| mycobacterium tuberculosis complex lipid virulence factors preserved in the 17,000-year-old skeleton of an extinct bison, bison antiquus. | tracing the evolution of ancient diseases depends on the availability and accessibility of suitable biomarkers in archaeological specimens. dna is potentially information-rich but it depends on a favourable environment for preservation. in the case of the major mycobacterial pathogens, mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae, robust lipid biomarkers are established as alternatives or complements to dna analyses. a dna report, a decade ago, suggested that a 17,000-year-old skeleton of ... | 2012 | 22860031 |
| limited susceptibility of cynomolgus monkeys (macaca fascicularis) to leprosy after experimental administration of mycobacterium leprae. | cynomolgus monkeys are a useful model for human tuberculosis, but susceptibility to m. leprae is unknown. a cynomolgus model of leprosy could increase understanding of pathogenesis-importantly, neuritis and nerve-damaging reactions. we administered viable mycobacterium leprae to 24 cynomolgus monkeys by three routes, with a median follow-up period of 6 years (range = 1-19 years) involving biopsies, nasal smears, antiphenolic glycolipid-1 (pgl-1) antibody serology, and lepromin skin testing. most ... | 2012 | 22855766 |
| cd163 favors mycobacterium leprae survival and persistence by promoting anti-inflammatory pathways in lepromatous macrophages. | lepromatous macrophages possess a regulatory phenotype that contributes to the immunosuppression observed in leprosy. cd163, a scavenger receptor that recognizes hemoglobin-haptoglobin complexes, is expressed at higher levels in lepromatous cells, although its functional role in leprosy is not yet established. we herein demonstrate that human lepromatous lesions are microenvironments rich in ido⁺cd163⁺. cells isolated from these lesions were cd68⁺ido⁺cd163⁺ while higher levels of scd163 in lepro ... | 2012 | 22851198 |
| increased serum circulatory levels of interleukin 17f in type 1 reactions of leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae affecting mainly skin and peripheral nerves. acute inflammatory episodes in the borderline immunological spectrum of the disease cause severe nerve and tissue damage leading to deformities. finding of any serological marker for leprosy reactions will help in prediction of reactions and in early treatment intervention. the objective of this study was to measure the serum circulatory levels of interleukin 17f (il 17f) and to co ... | 2012 | 22847545 |
| [current status of leprosy]. | leprosy, known since antiquity, is a world infectious disease due to mycobacterium leprae. the transmission is probably via nasal droplets. the clinical range, from tuberculoid to lepromatous leprosy is a result of variation in the cell-mediated immune response, with a chronic inflammation in skin and peripheral nerves. diagnosis of leprosy is clinical with anesthetic skin lesion and skin smears detect acid fast bacilli. besides the classification of patients due to the ridley scale which is cli ... | 2012 | 22838263 |
| the leprosy agents mycobacterium lepromatosis and mycobacterium leprae in mexico. | mycobacterium leprae was the only known cause of leprosy until 2008, when a new species, named mycobacterium lepromatosis, was found to cause diffuse lepromatous leprosy (dll), a unique form of leprosy endemic in mexico. | 2012 | 22788812 |
| complex regional pain syndrome secondary to leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae affecting the skin and the nerves. complex regional pain syndrome (crps/sudeck's dystrophy) is a painful and disabling condition--a triad of autonomic, sensory, and motor symptoms disproportionate to the inciting event (inflammatory, infective, or traumatic nerve damage). | 2012 | 22757620 |
| lshgd: a database for human leprosy susceptible genes. | studies aiming to explore the involvement of host genetic factors to determine susceptibility to develop disease and individual's response to the infection with mycobacterium leprae have increased in recent years. to address this issue, we have developed a leprosy susceptible human gene database (lshgd) to integrate leprosy and human associated 45 genes by profound literature search. this will serve as a user-friendly and interactive platform to understand the involvement of human polymorphisms ... | 2012 | 22750101 |
| [childhood memories…]. | leprosy is still a largely worldwide spread disease but rarely encountered in metropolitan france. its identification implies a multidisciplinary clinical, pathological and bacteriological diagnosis which is necessary to an efficient antibiotic treatment against a crippling disease which remains curable. here we report the case of a 24-year-old man who was showing an original both cutaneous and pulmonary presence of acido-alcooloresistant bacillus which have been identified as mycobacterium lepr ... | 2012 | 22748342 |
| impact of pgl-i seropositivity on the protective effect of bcg vaccination among leprosy contacts: a cohort study. | contacts of leprosy patients are at increased risk of developing leprosy and need to be targeted for early diagnosis. seropositivity to the phenolic glycolipid i (pgl-i) antigen of mycobacterium leprae has been used to identify contacts who have an increased risk of developing leprosy. in the present study, we studied the effect of seropositivity in patient contacts, on the risk of developing leprosy, stratified by bacille calmette guerin (bcg) vaccination after index case diagnosis. | 2012 | 22724040 |
| mitochondrial dna copy number, but not haplogroup, confers a genetic susceptibility to leprosy in han chinese from southwest china. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, an unculturable pathogen with an exceptionally eroded genome. the high level of inactivation of gene function in m. leprae, including many genes in its metabolic pathways, has led to a dependence on host energy production and nutritional products. we hypothesized that host cellular powerhouse--the mitochondria--may affect host susceptibility to m. leprae and the onset of clinical leprosy, and this may be reflected by mitocho ... | 2012 | 22719964 |
| quality of life of patients with paucibacillary leprosy. | leprosy, an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, can affect the skin and the peripheral nervous system and, depending on the level of involvement, it can lead to severe deformities. leprosy is classified into two major groups: paucibacillary (up to five lesions) and multibacillary (more than five lesions). the deformities that appear during the progress of the disease can affect the quality of life. | 2012 | 22714756 |
| epidemiological profile of leprosy in the brazilian state of piauí between 2003 and 2008. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. it is considered a major public health issue in developing countries. | 2012 | 22714753 |
| leprosy late-onset neuropathy: an uncommon presentation of leprosy. | clinical and pathological findings in leprosy are determined by the natural host immune response to mycobacterium leprae. we previously described cases of painful neuropathy (pn) with no concurrent cause apart from a past history of leprosy successfully treated. four leprosy previously treated patients who developed a pn years after multidrug therapy (mdt) are reported. the mean patient age was 52.75 years (47-64). the mean time interval of the recent neuropathy from the previous mdt was 19 year ... | 2012 | 22699535 |
| nerve damage in leprosy: a continuing challenge to scientists, clinicians and service providers. | this review focuses on nerve damage in leprosy. we present evidence to support the argument that leprosy is best seen as a chronic neurological condition rather than a simple skin disease. nerve damage affects small dermal nerves and peripheral nerve trunks. perineural inflammation is a characteristic and hallmark of early leprosy. t cell-mediated inflammation is the main pathological process in leprosy nerve damage. the level of nerve damage in leprosy is high with up to 60% of multibacillary p ... | 2012 | 24029146 |
| atypical hansen's disease presenting as florid verrucous plaques on the lower extremities: a case report. | verrucous leprosy is rare, with only 18 cases reported in the literature. visceral involvement is frequent but often overlooked, causing significant morbidity and mortality. | 2012 | 22607288 |
| social contact patterns and leprosy disease: a case-control study in bangladesh. | socioeconomic and culturally defined social contact patterns are expected to be an important determinant in the continuing transmission of mycobacterium leprae in leprosy-endemic areas. in a case-control study in two districts in bangladesh, we assessed the association between social contact patterns and the risk of acquiring clinical leprosy. social contacts of 90 recently diagnosed patients were compared to those of 199 controls. leprosy was associated with a more intensive social contact patt ... | 2013 | 22583511 |
| interleukin-10-dependent down-regulation of interferon-gamma response to leishmania by mycobacterium leprae antigens during the clinical course of a coinfection. | we have described a case of a patient with an intriguing association of mucocutaneous leishmaniasis with lepromatous leprosy, two opposite polar forms of these spectral diseases. in the present follow-up study, we investigated the effect of the addition of mycobacterium leprae antigens on interferon-gamma (ifn-γ) production in leishmania antigen-stimulated cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmc) from this patient. for this purpose, pbmc cultures were stimulated with crude l. brazil ... | 2012 | 22570089 |
| increased expression of regulatory t cells and down-regulatory molecules in lepromatous leprosy. | t regulatory cells (tregs) play an important role in the mechanism of host's failure to control pathogen dissemination in severe forms of different chronic granulomatous diseases, but their role in leprosy has not yet been elucidated; 28 newly diagnosed patients (16 patients with lepromatous leprosy and 12 patients with tuberculoid leprosy) and 6 healthy mycobacterium leprae-exposed individuals (contacts) were studied. tregs were quantified by flow cytometry (cd4+ cd25+ foxp3+) in peripheral blo ... | 2012 | 22556091 |
| essential role of hormone-sensitive lipase (hsl) in the maintenance of lipid storage in mycobacterium leprae-infected macrophages. | mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae), the causative agent of leprosy, parasitizes within the foamy or enlarged phagosome of macrophages where rich lipids accumulate. although the mechanisms for lipid accumulation in the phagosome have been clarified, it is still unclear how such large amounts of lipids escape degradation. to further explore underlying mechanisms involved in lipid catabolism in m. leprae-infected host cells, we examined the expression of hormone-sensitive lipase (hsl), a key enzyme i ... | 2012 | 22553833 |
| pathogen-specific epitopes as epidemiological tools for defining the magnitude of mycobacterium leprae transmission in areas endemic for leprosy. | during recent years, comparative genomic analysis has allowed the identification of mycobacterium leprae-specific genes with potential application for the diagnosis of leprosy. in a previous study, 58 synthetic peptides derived from these sequences were tested for their ability to induce production of ifn-γ in pbmc from endemic controls (ec) with unknown exposure to m. leprae, household contacts of leprosy patients and patients, indicating the potential of these synthetic peptides for the diagno ... | 2012 | 22545169 |
| investigation of association between susceptibility to leprosy and snps inside and near the bche gene of butyrylcholinesterase. | leprosy is a chronic disease caused by mycobacterium leprae and affects the skin and the peripheral nervous system. butyrylcholinesterase is coded by the bche gene, and the atypical allele (70g; rs1799807) has been investigated as a leprosy risk factor, with conflicting results. the present study estimated the frequencies of variants of rs1799807 and of five additional snps at the bche gene or near it: rs1126680, rs1803274, rs2863381, rs4440084, and rs4387996. a total of 167 patients and 150 hea ... | 2012 | 22523498 |
| new biomarkers with relevance to leprosy diagnosis applicable in areas hyperendemic for leprosy. | leprosy is not eradicable with currently available diagnostics or interventions, as evidenced by its stable incidence. early diagnosis of mycobacterium leprae infection should therefore be emphasized in leprosy research. it remains challenging to develop tests based on immunological biomarkers that distinguish individuals controlling bacterial replication from those developing disease. to identify biomarkers for field-applicable diagnostics, we determined cytokines/chemokines induced by m. lepra ... | 2012 | 22504648 |
| drug and multidrug resistance among mycobacterium leprae isolates from brazilian relapsed leprosy patients. | skin biopsy samples from 145 relapse leprosy cases and from five different regions in brazil were submitted for sequence analysis of part of the genes associated with mycobacterium leprae drug resistance. single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) in these genes were observed in m. leprae from 4 out of 92 cases with positive amplification (4.3%) and included a case with a mutation in rpob only, another sample with snps in both folp1 and rpob, and two cases showing mutations in folp1, rpob, and gyra, ... | 2012 | 22495562 |
| multibacillary leprosy: erythema as the only clinical presentation. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by mycobacterium leprae, which primarily affects the skin and peripheral nerves. in this article, we present a 45-year-old man and a 39-year-old women who suffered from asymptomatic irregular erythemas on their trunk and extremities. since both patients denied the history of exposure to leprosy patients and were absent clinical signs of superficial sensation dysfunction and enlarged peripheral nerves, they were diagnosed of mycosis fungoides an ... | 2012 | 22490424 |
| [lucio's phenomenon in a patient with leprosy on aruba]. | lucio's phenomenon is a rare leprosy reaction characterised by bizarrely-shaped, purpuric skin lesions and ulceration. it occurs in diffuse lepromatous leprosy and it is mainly reported in patients from mexico and the caribbean. | 2012 | 22475236 |
| transforming growth factor β and apoptosis in leprosy skin lesions: possible relationship with the control of the tissue immune response in the mycobacterium leprae infection. | the course of leprosy depends of the host immune response which ranges from the lepromatous pole (ll) to the tuberculoid pole (tt). a comparative study was conducted in 60 patients with the ll and tt. the results showed a mean expression of tgf-β of 339 ± 99.4 cells/field for tt and of 519.2 ± 68.2 cells/field for ll. frequency of apoptosis was 6.3 ± 1.8 in tt and 14.0 ± 6.1 in ll. a correlation (p = 0.0251) between tgf-β and caspase-3 in the ll was found. this finding indicates a role of tgf-β ... | 2012 | 22429842 |
| histopathological examination of nerve samples from pure neural leprosy patients: obtaining maximum information to improve diagnostic efficiency. | nerve biopsy examination is an important auxiliary procedure for diagnosing pure neural leprosy (pnl). when acid-fast bacilli (afb) are not detected in the nerve sample, the value of other nonspecific histological alterations should be considered along with pertinent clinical, electroneuromyographical and laboratory data (the detection of mycobacterium leprae dna with polymerase chain reaction and the detection of serum anti-phenolic glycolipid 1 antibodies) to support a possible or probable pnl ... | 2012 | 22415265 |
| potential selective inhibitors against rv0183 of mycobacterium tuberculosis targeting host lipid metabolism. | tuberculosis is the second leading infectious killer with 9 million new cases in 2009. extensive use of pathogen's lipid metabolism especially in utilizing the host lipids and virulence highlights the importance of exported lipid-catabolizing enzymes. current study aims to emphasize the importance of rv0183, an exported monoacylglycerol lipase, involved in metabolizing the host cell membrane lipids. sequence analysis and homology modeling shows rv0183 is highly conserved throughout mycobacterial ... | 2012 | 22405030 |
| hansen's disease (leprosy): current and future pharmacotherapy and treatment of disease-related immunologic reactions. | hansen's disease, also known as leprosy, remains an important public health problem throughout the world, including north america. the causative microbe in hansen's disease is mycobacterium leprae, an acid-fast organism that is difficult to grow in vitro. the nine-banded armadillo is the major animal reservoir in the united states. manifestations of disease vary based on host immune response and can range from tuberculoid to lepromatous leprosy (paucibacillary to multibacillary disease). hansen' ... | 2012 | 22392826 |
| epidemiological, clinical, and operational aspects of leprosy patients assisted at a referral service in the state of maranhão, brazil. | leprosy is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. the aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological, clinical, and operational aspects of leprosy carriers. | 2012 | 22370835 |
| orbital apex syndrome due to trigeminal perineural spread of sinonasal leprosy: a case report. | leprosy is a granulomatous disease primarily affecting the skin and peripheral nerves caused by mycobacterium leprae, but also significantly involving sinonasal cavities and cranial nerves. it continues to be a significant public health problem, and despite multidrug therapy, it can still cause significant morbidity. the awareness of cranial nerve, intracranial and orbital apex involvement as in our case is important for appropriate treatment measures. | 2012 | 22370135 |
| peptides derived from mycobacterium leprae ml1601c discriminate between leprosy patients and healthy endemic controls. | the stable incidence of new leprosy cases suggests that transmission of infection continues despite worldwide implementation of mdt. thus, specific tools are needed to diagnose early stage mycobacterium leprae infection, the likely sources of transmission. m. leprae antigens that induce t-cell responses in m. leprae exposed and/or infected individuals thus are major targets for new diagnostic tools. previously, we showed that ml1601c was immunogenic in patients and healthy household contacts (hh ... | 2012 | 22363349 |
| ninjurin1 single nucleotide polymorphism and nerve damage in leprosy. | leprosy, a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, can damage the peripheral nervous system and represents one of the leading causes of nontraumatic neuropathy in some developing countries. the ninjurin1 is a cell adhesion molecule that provides suitable substrates for repair of schwann cells after peripheral nerve injury. the single nucleotide polymorphism ninj1, is the result of a transversion of an adenine to a nucleotide polymorphic cytokine (a→c), responsible for an amino ... | 2012 | 22326538 |
| relative entropy differences in bacterial chromosomes, plasmids, phages and genomic islands. | we sought to assess whether the concept of relative entropy (information capacity), could aid our understanding of the process of horizontal gene transfer in microbes. we analyzed the differences in information capacity between prokaryotic chromosomes, genomic islands (gi), phages, and plasmids. relative entropy was estimated using the kullback-leibler measure. | 2012 | 22325062 |
| recurrent disseminated intravascular coagulation caused by intermittent dosing of rifampin. | daily rifampin therapy is associated with minimal adverse effects, but administration on an intermittent or interrupted basis has been associated with severe immunoallergic reactions such as hemolytic anemia, acute renal failure, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. we describe a patient with mycobacterium leprae infection who experienced recurrent episodes of disseminated intravascular coagulation after intermittent exposures to rifampin, and review eight previously reported cases of rif ... | 2012 | 22302861 |
| use of the polymerase chain reaction to detect mycobacterium leprae in urine. | leprosy is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) has been applied to detect m. leprae in different clinical samples and urine seems to be attractive for this purpose. pcr was used to improve the sensitivity for diagnosing leprosy by amplifying a 151-bp pcr fragment of the m. leprae pra gene (pcr-pra) in urine samples. seventy-three leprosy patients (39 males and 34 females, 14 to 78 years old) were selected for leprosy diagnosis at a reference ... | 2012 | 22286535 |
| lower numbers of natural killer t cells in hiv-1 and mycobacterium leprae co-infected patients. | natural killer t (nkt) cells are a heterogeneous population of lymphocytes that recognize antigens presented by cd1d and have attracted attention because of their potential role linking innate and adaptive immune responses. peripheral nkt cells display a memory-activated phenotype and can rapidly secrete large amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines upon antigenic activation. in this study, we evaluated nkt cells in the context of patients co-infected with hiv-1 and mycobacterium leprae. the volun ... | 2012 | 22269018 |
| mutation analysis of mycobacterial rpob genes and rifampin resistance using recombinant mycobacterium smegmatis. | rifampin is a major drug used to treat leprosy and tuberculosis. the rifampin resistance of mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium tuberculosis results from a mutation in the rpob gene, encoding the β subunit of rna polymerase. a method for the molecular determination of rifampin resistance in these two mycobacteria would be clinically valuable, but the relationship between the mutations and susceptibility to rifampin must be clarified before its use. analyses of mutations responsible for rifamp ... | 2012 | 22252831 |
| advances in proteomics of mycobacterium leprae. | although mycobacterium leprae was the first bacterial pathogen identified causing human disease, it remains one of the few that is non-cultivable. understanding the biology of m. leprae is one of the primary challenges in current leprosy research. genomics has been extremely valuable, nonetheless, functional proteins are ultimately responsible for controlling most aspects of cellular functions, which in turn could facilitate parasitizing the host. furthermore, bacterial proteins provide targets ... | 2012 | 22229831 |
| mycobacterium leprae: pathogenic agent in leprosy. discovery of new species mycobacterium lepromatosis. perspectives in research and diagnosis of leprosy. | m. leprae was presumed as an aetiologic agent in dll, without specific microbiologic studios in the past. the sequencing of the genome through genetic testing led to the discovery of a new species m. lepromatosis by han et al. in 2008. | 2012 | 24595978 |