@article{17765,
  keywords = {Antibodies, Bacterial, Antigens, Bacterial, Bacterial Vaccines, Combined Modality Therapy, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Glycolipids, Humans, Hypersensitivity, Delayed, Immunoglobulin M, Lepromin, Leprostatic Agents, leprosy, Leprosy, Borderline, Leprosy, lepromatous, Leprosy, Tuberculoid, Longitudinal studies, Lymphocyte Activation, Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium leprae},
  author = {Rada E and Ulrich M and Aranzazu N and Santaella C and Gallinoto M and Centeno M and Rodriguez V and Convit J},
  title = {A longitudinal study of immunologic reactivity in leprosy patients treated with immunotherapy.},
  abstract = {<p>More than 150 leprosy patients treated with multidrug therapy (MDT) plus immunotherapy (IMT) with a mixture of heat-killed Mycobacterium leprae plus live BCG were studied in relation to humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. Many previously had received prolonged sulfone monotherapy. Patients received 2 to 10 doses of IMT in a period of 1 to 3 years, depending upon their clinical form of leprosy. The patients were followed up for 5 to 10 years with repeated determinations of antibody levels to phenolic glycolipid-I; lymphoproliferative (LTT) responses to soluble extract of M. leprae, to whole bacilli and to BCG, skin-test responses and bacterial indexes (BIs). After MDT plus IMT there was a statistically significant decrease of antibody levels in the multibacillary (MB) group. The BI decreased proportionally to the ELISA results. LTT increased to M. leprae antigens, especially to soluble extract, in a high percentage of these patients (34% of LL patients positive). Lepromin positivity in MB patients increased from 5% initially positive to 75% at the cut-off during this follow up. These results show substantial early and persistent cell-mediated reactivity to M. leprae in many MB patients treated with MDT-IMT, confirming and expanding previously published data.</p>
},
  year = {1994},
  journal = {International journal of leprosy and other mycobacterial diseases : official organ of the International Leprosy Association},
  volume = {62},
  pages = {552-8},
  month = {1994 Dec},
  issn = {0148-916X},
  url = {http://ila.ilsl.br/pdfs/v62n4a08.pdf},
  language = {eng},
}