Evaluation of New Antibacterial Drugs and their Combinations in a Murine Model to Identify Short Duration Alternative Chemotherapy for Leprosy.

The objective of the research is to test the efficacy of new drugs and drug combinations in mice infected with Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) as alternative to current WHO MDT. Individual drugs tested were Rifampicin (RMP), Rifapentine (RPT) and Moxifloxacin (MOXI).

Evaluation of anti-bacterial activity of Rifapentine, Clarithromycin, Minocycline, Moxifloxacin, Ofloxacin and their combinations in Murine Model of Rifampicin Resistant Leprosy.

Leprosy, a debilitating disease of the skin and peripheral nerves is caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) and is treated by multidrug therapy (MDT) comprising of Dapsone, Rifampicin and Clofazimine. Resistance to any of these drugs poses a threat to the current disease control strategies.

Type I reaction in leprosy--a histopathological analysis.

Even though type 1 lepra reaction (TIR) is a commonly encountered clinical problem, its histology has not yet been clearly delineated. This study attempts to enumerate the most sensitive parameters for the histological diagnosis of TIR. Case records between March 2007 and September 2007 of patients with TIR were reviewed and the biopsies were evaluated by a pathologist blinded to the previous diagnoses.

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformation in a patient with tuberculosis--an association?

We report a case of pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM) and associated pulmonary tuberculosis in a young girl who presented with hemoptysis. As intra-arterial coil embolization did not result in improvement of symptoms, surgical resection of the PAVM was performed, resulting in dramatic clinical improvement. Histopathology revealed a large PAVM, and in addition, caseous necrotizing granulomatous inflammation, suggestive of pulmonary tuberculosis.