Trindade MAB, Benard G, Ura S, Ghidella CC, Avelleira JCR, Vianna FR, Marques AB, Naafs B, Fleury RN. Granulomatous reactivation during the course of a leprosy infection: reaction or relapse.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2010;
4:e921. [PMID:
21200422 PMCID:
PMC3006134 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pntd.0000921]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2010] [Accepted: 11/18/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease and is still endemic in many parts of the world. It causes disabilities which are the consequence of nerve damage. This damage is in most cases the result of immunological reactions.
Objectives
To investigate the differences between a type 1 leprosy (reversal) reaction and relapse on using histopathology.
Methods
The histopathological changes in 167 biopsies from 66 leprosy patients were studied. The patients were selected when their sequential biopsies demonstrated either different patterns or maintained the same pattern of granulomatous reaction over more than two years during or after the treatment of leprosy.
Results
In 57 of the patients studied, a reactivation was seen which coincided with a decrease in the bacteriological index (BI), suggesting that this reactivation (reversal reaction or type 1 leprosy reaction) coincides with an effective capacity for bacteriological clearance. In nine patients, an increase of the bacteriologic index (IB) or persistence of solid bacilli occurred during the reactivation, indicating proliferative activity, suggestive of a relapse. The histopathological aspects of the granulomas were similar in both groups.
Conclusion
Bacterioscopy provided the only means to differentiate a reversal reaction from a relapse in patients with granulomatous reactivation. The type 1 leprosy reaction may be considered as a part effective immune reconstitution (reversal, upgrading reaction) or as a mere hypersensitivity reaction (downgrading reaction) in a relapse.
Leprosy is a serious infectious disease whose treatment still poses some challenges. Patients are usually treated with a combination of antimicrobial drugs called multidrug therapy. Although this treatment is effective against Mycobacterium leprae, the bacillus that causes leprosy, patients may develop severe inflammatory reactions during treatment. These reactions may be either attributed to an improvement in the immunological reactivity of the patient along with the treatment, or to relapse of the disease due to the proliferation of remaining bacilli. In certain patients these two conditions may be difficult to differentiate. The present study addresses the histopathology picture of and the M. leprae bacilli in sequential biopsies taken from lesions of patients who presented such reactions aiming to improve the differentiation of the two conditions. This is important because these reactions are one of the major causes of the disabilities of the patients with leprosy, and should be treated early and appropriately. Our results show that the histopathology picture alone is not sufficient, and that bacilli's counting is necessary.
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