Publications by authors named "Ligia Rocha Andrade"
Article Synopsis
- Pure Neural Leprosy (PNL) is a rare form of leprosy that specifically impacts the peripheral nervous system, and its underlying mechanisms are not well understood.
- A study of 30 PNL patients revealed high rates of neural thickening, sensory symptoms, and neuropathic pain, as well as distinct cytokine profiles that differ from other leprosy forms.
- The findings suggest that cytokines like CCL-2 and IL-10 play significant roles in PNL, potentially influencing silent neuritis and overall disease understanding, highlighting the need for further research on its immunological aspects.
One of the main manifestations of leprosy is peripheral nerve impairment. Early diagnosis and treatment are important to reduce the impact of neurological impairment, which can cause deformities and physical disabilities. Leprosy neuropathy can be acute or chronic, and neural involvement can occur before, during, or after multidrug therapy, and especially during reactional episodes when neuritis occurs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Leprosy reactions are complications that can occur before, during, or after multidrug therapy (MDT) and are considered a major cause of nerve damage. Neuritis is an inflammatory process that causes nerve function impairment associated with pain and tenderness along the nerve. Neuritis can be found in both type 1 and type 2 reactions and may also be the sole manifestation of a leprosy reaction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Pure Neural Leprosy (PNL) is a rare form of leprosy that lacks traditional skin lesions but causes significant disability.
- The study involved 52 PNL patients, focusing on their clinical and nerve conduction characteristics, evaluated before and after multidrug therapy (MDT).
- Findings showed common issues like paresthesia and motor/sensory impairments, but minimal changes post-MDT, emphasizing the need for better diagnostic tools like nerve biopsies in PNL cases.
Background: Diagnosing neuritis in leprosy patients with neuropathic pain or chronic neuropathy remains challenging since no specific laboratory or neurophysiological marker is available.
Methods: In a cross-sectional study developed at a leprosy outpatient clinic in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil, 54 individuals complaining of neural pain (single or multiple sites) were classified into two groups ("neuropathic pain" or "neuritis") by a neurological specialist in leprosy based on anamnesis together with clinical and electrophysiological examinations. A neurologist, blind to the pain diagnoses, interviewed and examined the participants using a standardized form that included clinical predictors, pain features, and neurological symptoms.
Neural pain is a frequent symptom in leprosy disease. There is a paucity of data regarding neural pain diagnostics resulting in common prescriptive errors when neuritis is confused with neuropathic or mixed nociceptive-neuropathic pain. The present study identified important demographic, clinical, and neurophysiological features of 42 leprosy neuropathy patients presenting neuropathic pain (NP).
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