Median nerve impairment in leprosy: how does it differ from the classic carpal tunnel syndrome?

Background:  Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) has already been described as a possible form of neural leprosy presentation. However, the median nerve can be involved in this neuropathy in proximal segments and, sometimes, with an asymmetric impairment of the digital branches.

Objective:  To detail the pattern of median nerve impairment through nerve conduction study (NCS) and ultrasound evaluation.

Impact of histopathological and serological assessments on early diagnosis of leprosy relapse.

This study aimed to identify laboratory factors predicting leprosy relapse (LR) after multi-drug therapy (MDT). A case-control study included 80 patients treated with MDT at a national reference center over 12 years. The Relapse Group had 40 patients who relapsed after an average of 89.

Role of histopathological, serological and molecular findings for the early diagnosis of treatment failure in leprosy.

Background: Treatment failure (TF) in leprosy following multidrug therapy (MDT) presents a significant challenge. The current World Health Organization (WHO) fixed-duration MDT regimen, based on lesion count, might not be adequate. Leprosy lacks clear-cut objective cure criteria, and the predictive value of post-MDT histopathological findings remains uncertain.

Models for predicting the risk of illness in leprosy contacts in Brazil: Leprosy prediction models in Brazilian contacts.

Objective: This study aims to develop and validate predictive models that assess the risk of leprosy development among contacts, contributing to an enhanced understanding of disease occurrence in this population.

Methods: A cohort of 600 contacts of people with leprosy treated at the National Reference Center for Leprosy and Health Dermatology at the Federal University of Uberlândia (CREDESH/HC-UFU) was followed up between 2002 and 2022. The database was divided into two parts: two-third to construct the disease risk score and one-third to validate this score.

Bartonella henselae DNA detection in patients with type 1 leprosy reactions for more than six months.

Leprosy reactions are among the main causes of physical disability resulting from an infectious disease and can culminate in irreversible physical disabilities, therefore they should be considered a clinical emergency, as well as the elucidation of its cause. Co-infections are considered one of the main triggering causes of leprosy reactions, aggravating and maintaining these reactions for longer in these patients. After reporting a high rate of Bartonella henselae infection in patients with chronic type 2 leprosy reaction, 19/47 (40.

Adverse reactions induced by MDT/WHO (Rifampicin+Clofazimine+Dapsone) and ROM (Rifampicin+Ofloxacin+Minocycline) regimens used in the treatment of leprosy: a cohort study in a National Reference Center in Brazil.

Recommended standard treatment for leprosy is multidrugtherapy (MDT/WHO), consisting Rifampicin+Dapsone+Clofazimine. Other medications are recommended in cases of resistance, adverse reactions and intolerances, including ROM regimen, Rifampicin+Ofloxacin+Minocycline. Therefore, pharmacovigilance is an important tool in understanding these adverse drug reactions (ADRs), supporting pharmacotherapy management and medication safety.

Identification of types of wound bed tissue as a percentage and total wound area by planimetry in neuropathic and venous ulcers.

Background: Neuropathic and venous leg ulcers are chronic wounds associated with devitalized tissue and recurrent infection. Management should be guided by accurate tissue assessment, including the use of planimetry, which provides tissue types as a percentage of the total wound bed surface area.

Objective: This innovative study aimed to assess and identify the wound bed tissues, as a percentage, of neuropathic and venous ulcers using digital planimetry, providing support to nurses optimize the management of necrotic tissues and, consequently, to avoid wound infection.

Bartonella henselae as a putative trigger for chronic type 2 leprosy reactions.

Leprosy reactions are an acute inflammatory phenomenon that can arise before diagnosis, during treatment, or after cure of leprosy. These reactions are considered one of the main diseases that cause physical disabilities. Immunosuppressive treatment for these immune responses makes these patients susceptible to coinfections, which can trigger new leprosy reactions.

HSP60 mimetic peptides from Mycobacterium leprae as new antigens for immunodiagnosis of Leprosy.

The early diagnosis of leprosy serves as an important tool to reduce the incidence of this disease in the world. Phage display (PD) technology can be used for mapping new antigens to the development of immunodiagnostic platforms. Our objective was to identify peptides that mimic Mycobacterium leprae proteins as serological markers using phage display technology.

A National Study on Psychological Violence in Brazil: Differences by Sex and Skin Color.

Violence is a global public health problem that affects especially the most vulnerable people. The aim was to analyze the prevalence of psychological violence in the Brazilian population and inequalities according to sex and skin color. This was a cross-sectional study in which the database of the National Health Survey 2019 was used.

Early diagnosis of neural impairment in seropositive leprosy household contacts: The experience of a reference center in Brazil.

Introduction: Leprosy is an infectious disease that remains with a high number of new cases in developing countries. Household contacts have a higher risk for the development of the disease, but the neural impairment in this group is not well elucidated yet. Here, we measured the chance of occurrence of peripheral neural impairment in asymptomatic leprosy household.

Clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory prognostic factors in patients with leprosy reactions: A 10-year retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Leprosy reactions, the main cause of neural damage, can occur up to 7 years after starting multidrug therapy. We aimed to approach the prognostic factors that may influence the leprosy reactions over the follow-up time.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study, encompassing 10 years of data collection, composed of 390 patients, divided into 201 affected by reactions and 189 reaction-free individuals.

Fever of Unknown Origin, Wasting Syndrome and Bone Marrow Involvement: A Leprosy Case Report.

, the etiologic agent of leprosy, is an acid-fast-staining and slow-growing bacilli that infect macrophages and Schwann cells individually or through forming globi. The clinical presentation of leprosy is broad and depends on the host immune response. We report a case of a 42-year-old Brazilian man presenting with fever of unknown origin (FUO), anemia, wasting syndrome, and neuropathy.

4-Dimethylaminoantipyrine as a Broad Electrochemical Indicator for Immunosensors Platform.

Here, we describe 4-dimethylaminoantipyrine (4-DMAA)-mediated interfacing as a broad biochemical indicator to stabilize and promote the higher response of electrodes for immunological detection. We hypothesized that the improved biological interactions of 4-DMAA with electrodes and biological samples may be due to the interaction properties of the benzene and pyrazole chemical groups with graphite and proteins, respectively. In order to demonstrate that 4-DMAA could be used as a general indicator in electrochemical immunoassays, we used peptides as probes for the diagnosis of four neglected tropical infectious diseases , , , and on commercial graphite screen-printed electrodes.

Type 2 leprosy reaction presenting as a monoarthritis post multidrug therapy.

Type 2 leprosy reaction, or (ENL), involves a complex interaction between the host's immune system and . It may occur before, during, or after treatment and have a variable clinical presentation involving different body systems, such as skin, osteoarticular, kidneys, and others. Thus, the differential diagnosis, depending on its clinical presentation, can be broad and challenging.

Leprosy Relapse: A Retrospective Study on Epidemiologic, Clinical, and Therapeutic Aspects at a Brazilian Referral Center.

Objectives: We aimed to characterize the profile of patients diagnosed with leprosy relapse and understand the influence of different multidrug therapy (MDT) treatments and initial disease presentation.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients diagnosed with leprosy relapse at a referral center in Brazil from 2013 to 2018. We analyzed their clinico-epidemiologic characteristics, laboratory data, and bacilloscopic tests.

Primary neural leprosy: clinical, neurophysiological and pathological presentation and progression.

Disability in leprosy is a direct consequence of damage to the peripheral nervous system which is usually worse in patients with no skin manifestations, an underdiagnosed subtype of leprosy known as primary neural leprosy. We evaluated clinical, neurophysiological and laboratory findings of 164 patients with definite and probable primary neural leprosy diagnoses. To better understand the disease progression and to improve primary neural leprosy clinical recognition we compared the characteristics of patients with short (≤12 months) and long (>12 months) disease duration.

Assessment of neuropathic pain in leprosy patients with relapse or treatment failure by infrared thermography: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Neuropathic pain (NP) is one of the main complications of leprosy, and its management is challenging. Infrared thermography (IRT) has been shown to be effective in the evaluation of peripheral autonomic function resulting from microcirculation flow changes in painful syndromes. This study used IRT to map the skin temperature on the hands and feet of leprosy patients with NP.

Late follow-up of peripheral neural decompression in leprosy: functional and clinical outcomes.

Background: Peripheral neural surgical decompression (PNSD) is used as a complementary therapy to the clinical treatment of neuritis to preserve neural function.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term (≥ 1 year) clinical and functional results for PNSD in leprosy neuritis.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included leprosy patients who were in late postoperative period (LPO) of surgical decompression of ulnar, median, tibial, and fibular nerves.

Peripheral nerve biopsy: a tool still needed in the early diagnosis of neural leprosy?

Background: The early recognition of neural impairment in leprosy, especially in primary neural forms, represents a challenge in clinical practice and a peripheral nerve biopsy may be required for diagnostic confirmation. This study aims to characterize the epidemiological, clinical, electroneuromyographic, laboratory and histopathological aspects of patients undergoing peripheral nerve biopsy during investigation of primary neural cases in leprosy.

Methods: A total of 104 patients with peripheral neuropathy who were referred to a national reference centre for leprosy were biopsied from 2014 to 2018.