Leprosy and genetics. A review of past research with remarks concerning future investigations

Abstract

The few geneticists who are interested in leprosy have been working in this field only since 1962, and have made little progress in solving the problems presented by susceptibility to this disease.This paper reviews the research that has been conducted, with particular reference to the search for associations between leprosy and certain genetic markers. In each area, the advantages and limitations of different techniques are described, and attention is drawn to sources of bias that may invalidate many of the results that have been published. Of particular interest is the discussion of a new technique for evaluating resistance to-leprosy. The proposed technique is based upon the in vitro transformation of blood monocytes into macrophages, and the observation of their behaviour against Mycobacterium leprae.