[Mutilating acrodystrophic neuropathy of alcoholic origin in the French West Indies].

Among principal causes of acrodystrophic neuropathy-ie, leprosy, diabetes, amyloid neuropathy, hereditary sensory neuropathies-alcoholism is controversial since first descriptions (Bureau et al, 1957) incriminating heavy drinking. This retrospective review of 38 cases occurring in West-Indian rhum abusers, tends however to confirm its etiologic role. Patients present with three non specific signs or symptoms of the lower extremities: anaesthetic foot, plantar ulcers, and chronic, indolent, mutilating arthropathies.

[5-year assessment of daily multi-drug therapy of leprosy in Guadeloupe since 1980].

In Guadeloupe, from January 1980 to December 1984, 420 leprosy patients were put under daily multidrug therapy: 10 mg/kg RMP plus 100 mg DDS during six months for paucibacillary patients, 10 mg/kg RMP plus 100 mg DDS during 24 months supplemented during the 12 first months with 10 mg/kg of a thioamide, ethionamide or protionamide, for multibacillary patients. The approval to the treatment was satisfactory in all the patients with active leprosy, new cases and relapse cases, less in the inactive patients already treated with dapsone only. The patients's compliance to treatment was satisfactory too.

[Epidemiology of leprosy in Guadeloupe from 1970 to 1984].

Analysis of computerized data compiled according to the OMSLEP system in the leprosy control service in Guadeloupe has shown that from 1970 to 1984, 80% of the patients were detected by passive case-finding (symptomatic patients), 10% by active case-finding among the school population and 10% by active case-finding among the house-hold contacts of known patients. During the same period of time, global incidence of new cases of leprosy declined from 24 to 11 per 100,000 inhabitants. The decline was greater for paucibacillary cases (y = -0,94) than for multibacillary cases (y = -0,45), and much greater among persons under 15 years of age (y = -3,22) than among those older ones (y = -0,67).

Hepatotoxicity of the daily combination of 5 mg/kg prothionamide + 10 mg/kg rifampin.

Because a 13% incidence of hepatotoxicity was observed in a first study of multibacillary leprosy patients treated daily with dapsone, rifampin, and 10 mg/kg thioamide, the patients were treated in a second study with 5 mg/kg thioamide in daily combination with dapsone and rifampin. In this study, monthly assessments of liver function were performed in order to detect early hepatic disturbances. Despite the reduced dosage of thioamide, a 16.