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Current approaches and future directions in the treatment of leprosy

Authors Worobec S

Received 13 March 2012

Accepted for publication 23 May 2012

Published 2 August 2012 Volume 2012:3 Pages 79—91

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/RRTM.S27395

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 3



Sophie M Worobec

Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Abstract: This review surveys current treatments and future treatment trends in leprosy from a clinical perspective. The World Health Organization provides a multidrug treatment regimen that targets the Mycobacterium leprae bacillus which causes leprosy. Several investigational drugs are available for the treatment of drug-resistant M. leprae. Future directions in leprosy treatment will focus on: the molecular signaling mechanism M. leprae uses to avoid triggering an immune response; prospective studies of the side effects experienced during multiple-drug therapy; recognition of relapse rates post-completion of designated treatments; combating multidrug resistance; vaccine development; development of new diagnostic tests; and the implications of the recent discovery of a genetically distinct leprosy-causing bacillus, Mycobacterium lepromatosis.

Keywords: epidemiology, leprosy, Hansen’s disease, multidrug resistance, multidrug therapy

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