(LML) Bolus treatment and the prevention of nerve damage in Erythema Nodosum Leprosum ENL

Leprosy Mailing List – June 14,  2015

Ref.:    (LML)  Bolus treatment and the prevention of nerve damage in Erythema Nodosum Leprosum ENL

From: PK Das, Birmingham, UK

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Dear Pieter,

In reference to "Bolus treatment and the prevention of nerve damage in ENL" (LML,11 June, 2015), Ben Naafs referred to our recently published work on "the identification of LAM in M.leprae as the dominant complement activator on axon, and using mouse as an experimental model for crushed (trauma induced) axonal damage”, where we could show that MAC formation on axon may be one of the principal causes for axonal damage in leprosy and its inhibition could be neuro-protective. This is by no means that by inhibiting MAC leprosy neuropathy will be cured. This is overstretched imagination, at least at the present moment, until further work is carried out.

In this regard I also saw some press releases about our work (particularly this one, which Ben is drumming up the band overenthusiastically), where I noticed certain points were misrepresented. Misrepresentations in the press releases were as follows:
i) this particular work was primarily carried out in AMC-UvA by a Ph. D. researcher Nawal Idrisi in the laboratory of Professor Frank Baas with my direct involvement as an honorary staff and part of the work particularly those involving human biopsies were carried out in collaboration with the Inst. Lauro de  Souza Lima, Bauru, Brazil;
ii) I do not have any knowledge that leprosy can be diagnosed before skin lesion appear. My knowledge is only this: we laboratory people had been busy in diagnosing leprosy after they have been diagnosed with skin lesions. However, what our work suggests that we have some laboratory markers which could help the clinicians to determine the end point treatment for each patient before they are released from treatment. Even in reference to the latter, data needs to be made robust, which to my knowledge has yet to be established.

I thought I would rather clarify these points, otherwise we will be swimming around confusion, as the leprosy literature is already burdened with lots of hearsay (or anecdotal) statements or observations with sky high speculations.

Thank you.

Pran

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LML - S Deepak, B Naafs, S Noto and P Schreuder

LML blog link: http://leprosymailinglist.blogspot.it/

Contact: Dr Pieter Schreuder << editorlml@gmail.com

 

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