Mycobacterium leprosy

Compounds closely related to the sulfonamide antibiotics proved to be the first drugs effective against Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of the disease known since antiquity, leprosy. These drugs are at least partly responsible for the decline of I hose horror spots, the leper colonies. 

Leprosy, also referred to as Hansen s disease, is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. Although rare in colder climates, this disease may be seen in tropical and subtropical zones. Dapsone and clofazimine (Lamprene) are the two drags currently used to treat leprosy. The leprostatic drugs are listed in the Summaiy Drug Table Leprostatic Dragp. 

Since the causative organism of leprosy, one of the world s six major diseases, Mycobacterium leprae, is closely related to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, thio-semicarbazones have also been used as second-line drugs in the chemotherapy of leprosy [38]. The most widely used in leprosy treatment has been thiacetazone, and structure-activity relationships for it are similar to those observed for antitubercular thiosemicarbazones [39, 40]. 

Additional studies illustrate that IFN-y stimulates phagocytic activity in humans suffering from various cancers, AIDS and lepromatous leprosy (leprosy is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. Lepromatous leprosy is a severe contagious form of the disease leading to disfigurement). IFN-y may thus prove useful in treating such conditions. 

The lepromatous form of leprosy is characterized by loss ofcutaneoussensibility. Hansen sbacillus(Mycobacterium leprae), which proliferates only in environments cooler than the core temperature maintained by most mammals, is capable of infecting Schwann cells in subcutaneous nerves because the basal lamina of these cells contains a-dystroglycan, to which this mycobacterium binds, and because subcutaneous nerves are often cooler than deeper tissues. Lepromatous neuropathy is a common cause of sensory mononeuropathy multiplex in the developing World [16,17]. 

Clofazimine is given to treat sulfone-resistant leprosy or to patients who are intolerant to sulfones. It also exerts an antiinflammatory effect and prevents erythema nodosum leprosum, which can interrupt treatment with dapsone. This is a major advantage of clofazimine over other antileprosy drugs. Ulcerative lesions caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans respond well to clofazimine. It also has some activity against M. tuberculosis and can be used as last resort therapy for the treatment of MDR tuberculosis. 

Leprosy. A slowly progressive, chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae and characterized by the development of granulomatous or neurotropic lesions in the skin, mucous membranes, nerves, bones, and viscera. 

Leprosy is caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The various drugs used in the treatment of leprosy are classified as in table 9.12.1. 

PABA) incorporation into folic acid (inhibition of folate synthesis). In large proportion of Mycobacterium leprae infections e.g. in lepromatous leprosy, resistance can develop, so combination of dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine is used in initial therapy. 

Mycobacterium leprae has never been grown in vitro, but animal models, such as growth in injected mouse footpads, have permitted laboratory evaluation of drugs. Only those drugs that have the widest clinical use are presented here. Because of increasing reports of dapsone resistance, treatment of leprosy with combinations of the drugs listed below is recommended. 

Mycobacteria. Mycobacterium (M. tuberculosis, tuberculosis M. leprae, leprosy)... 

Clofazimine is effective against Mycobacterium leprae and is used primarily as an adjunct in the treatment of leprosy. During clofazimine therapy, many patients experience problems with red to brownish-black discoloration of the skin. Although this discoloration is reversible, it may take several months to years before skin color returns to normal. Other adverse effects include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and rough, scaly skin. 

The infectious killer disease, tuberculosis (TB), is the leading cause of death worldwide from a single human pathogen, claiming more adult lives than diseases such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), malaria, diarrhea, leprosy, and all other tropical diseases combined. The organism usually responsible, the tubercle bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT), was discovered by Robert Koch in 1882. However, M. bovis, which infects cattle, may also infect humans, and M. africanum is a cause of TB in West Africa. Furthermore, a number of normally nonpathogenic mycobacteria, especially M. avium, M. intracellulare, and M. scrofulaceum, cause opportunistic infectious disease in patients with AIDS. Pulmonary TB, the most common type of the disease, is usually acquired by inhalation of the bacillus from an infectious patient and causes irreversible lung destruction (Newton et al., 2000). 

Interest in the nontuberculous (atypical) mycobacteria, especially members of the Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium intracellulare, Mycobacterium scro-fulaceum complex, has also been stimulated by AIDS. Infection with the M. avium complex is seen in up to 50% of patients with AIDS in some areas of the world.3 A review of U.S. cases found an overall 5.5% incidence of M. avium complex in AIDS patients.3 Leprosy, however, is clearly on the wane, although it remains a substantial problem.4 Its prevalence has been steadily diminished to a present-day worldwide figure of about 3 million registered cases and 5.5 million estimated cases, owing in part to a most effective multiple-drug regimen. The World Health Assembly has dedicated itself to the technical elimination of leprosy (that is, a prevalence of less than 1 per 10,000 population) by the turn of the century. 

Mycobacterium leprae Leproma Institut Pasteur Genome analysis of the leprosy (Hansen disease) bacillus M. leprae (http // genolist. pasteur. fr/Leproma /)... 

Fourteen different reference strains of mycobacteria from Central JALMA Institute of Leprosy, Agra, India, isolated from clinical specimens, have been screened for the in vitro studies. Among these were several members of slow-growing atypical mycobacteria, e.g., Mycobacterium marinum 50, Mycobacterium scrofulaceum 1323, Mycobacterium gordonae 1324, Mycobacterium ter-rae 1450, Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37RV 16, and H37Rv (102, Kl, K2). Two other strains, known as the ICRC [41] and Skinsnes bacillus [31], which had been isolated from human leproma and found to be the members of the Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare-scrofulaceum, were also included in this study. 

Leprosy, also called Hansen s disease, affects 10-12 million people worldwide. Caused by an unusual bacterium called Mycobacterium leprae, leprosy primarily af-... 

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