Prototype multi-biomarker test for point-of-care leprosy diagnostics.

To end the decade-long, obstinately stagnant number of new leprosy cases, there is an urgent need for field-applicable diagnostic tools that detect infection with , leprosy's etiologic agent. Since immunity against is characterized by humoral and cellular markers, we developed a lateral flow test measuring multiple host proteins based on six previously identified biomarkers for various leprosy phenotypes. This multi-biomarker test (MBT) demonstrated feasibility of quantitative detection of six host serum proteins simultaneously, jointly allowing discrimination of patients with multibacillary and paucibacillary leprosy from control individuals in high and low leprosy endemic areas.

The decline of leprosy in the Republic of Korea; patterns and trends 1977-2013.

Background: Though the World Health Organization declared the 'elimination of leprosy as public health problem' in 2000, the disease remains endemic in many countries. Current trends in incidence of infection and disease are unclear.

Methods: Data on leprosy prevalence between 1977-2013 and data on new leprosy cases detected in the Republic of Korea between 1989-2013 were analysed by age, sex, clinical types, mode of detection, family history, disability grading and geographical distribution.

Temporalis Muscle Transfer for the Treatment of Lagophthalmos in Patients With Leprosy: Refinement in Surgical Techniques to Prevent Postoperative Ptosis.

Facial paralysis resulting from leprosy has a serious impact on the entire face especially in the areas innervated by the facial nerves. In particular, lagophthalmos in patients with leprosy causes exposure keratitis, corneal, and conjunctival dryness, which can progress to blindness and disfigurement. Recently, we conducted 4 different temporalis muscle transfer (TMT) methods over the last 4 years to reduce ptosis.

Performance of PCR-reverse blot hybridization assay for detection of rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium leprae.

Drug resistance in Mycobacterium leprae is a significant problem in countries where leprosy is endemic. A sensitive, specific, and high-throughput reverse blot hybridization assay (REBA) for the detection of genotypic resistance to rifampicin (RIF) was designed and evaluated. It has been shown that resistance to RIF in M.

Antigen discovery: a postgenomic approach to leprosy diagnosis.

Leprosy is an infectious, neurodegenerative disease of humans caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Despite effective control programs, the incidence of leprosy remains stubbornly high, suggesting that transmission may be more common than expected. The rationale of this work was to use bioinformatics and comparative genomics to identify potentially antigenic proteins for diagnostic purposes.

DNA-PCR and RT-PCR for the 18-kDa gene of Mycobacterium leprae to assess the efficacy of multi-drug therapy for leprosy.

DNA-PCR and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR for the 18-kDa protein of Mycobacterium leprae were used to examine the efficacy of multi-drug therapy (MDT) in leprosy. MDT was administered for 0-24 months. Fourteen (63.