Clinical characteristics of neuropathic pain in leprosy and associated somatosensory profiles: a deep phenotyping study in India.

This study investigated the clinical characteristics and somatosensory profiles of patients suffering from leprosy in Mumbai, India. A cross-sectional deep profiling study was conducted in 86 patients with leprosy (with and without pain) using an extensive battery of phenotyping measures including structured clinical examination, psychological state (General Health Questionnaire [GHQ-12]), and a quality-of-life condition-specific instrument (Brief Pain Inventory-short form). Quantitative sensory testing was performed according to the protocol of the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain (DFNS) to assess the somatosensory profiles in the ulnar nerve innervation territory of all participants (dorsum of the hand).

Clinical, bacteriological, and histopathological characteristics of newly detected children with leprosy: a population based study in a defined rural and urban area of Maharashtra, Western India.

Background: Leprosy has been a major public-health problem in many developing countries for centuries. According to the National Leprosy Elimination Programme report of March 2012, there were a total of about 0.13 million cases of leprosy in India, 9.

BCG immunotherapy as an adjunct to chemotherapy in BL-lL patients--its effect on clinical regression, reaction severity, nerve function, lepromin conversion, bacterial/antigen clearance and 'persister' M. leprae.

Background And Objective: Multidrug therapy in leprosy has failed to eliminate the problem of persister bacilli. Clearance of bacterial antigens is extremely slow which could predispose to continued nerve damage even after release from treatment. In the present study the immunomodulatory efficacy of BCG vaccine administered post-MDT in BL-LL leprosy patients was investigated in depth with a view to determining if augmenting chemotherapy with immunotherapy would help in faster clearance of M.

Clinical, bacteriological and histopathological study of 62 referral relapse cases between Jan 2004 and Dec 2009 at the Foundation for Medical Research, Mumbai.

Unlabelled: Sixty two patients with relapsed leprosy seen between Jan 2004 and Dec 2009 were studied using clinical, bacteriological and histopathological parameters. The findings thus obtained were correlated to parameters such as trend and source of referral, clinical characteristics at diagnosis, treatment received, other events during or after RFT and duration between cessation of treatment and relapse.

Findings: Referrals per year have doubled since 2006.

Detection of previously undetected leprosy cases in a defined rural and urban area of Maharashtra, Western India.

Introduction: Leprosy has been a major public health problem in India for centuries. In India, between 2001 and 2005, the prevalence of leprosy was reduced by 80%. This sharp decline in the prevalence of leprosy alongside the cessation of active surveillance for detection of leprosy cases has raised a sense of alarm in the scientific community.