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Review
. 2012 Aug 1:3:79-91.
doi: 10.2147/RRTM.S27395. eCollection 2012.

Current approaches and future directions in the treatment of leprosy

Sophie M Worobec  1
Affiliations
Review

Current approaches and future directions in the treatment of leprosy

Sophie M Worobec. Res Rep Trop Med. .

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: Hansen’s disease; epidemiology; leprosy; multidrug resistance; multidrug therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The author has no financial interest in any of the items discussed. The author reports no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Leprosy new case detection rates, as of beginning January 2011. Note: © 2011, World Health Organization. Reproduced with permission from Leprosy Today [webpage on the Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; c2012 [cited 2012 May 28]. Available from: http://www.who.int/lep/en/. Accessed February 22, 2012. Abbreviations: WHO, World Health Organization.
Figure 2
Figure 2
New cases of leprosy worldwide.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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