01544nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001200055653002200067653001100089653000900100653001200109653002500121653002200146653000900168653002500177653001800202100001500220700001200235700001500247700001500262245010300277300001100380490000700391520084200398022001401240       1984                            d  c1984 Sep10aAnimals10aElectrophysiology10aFemale10aFoot10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae10aNeural Conduction10aRats10aRats, Inbred Strains10aSciatic Nerve1 aSébille A1 aTabti N1 aGuelpa C C1 aGiroir A M00aElectrophysiological studies of the sciatic nerves in Mycobacterium leprae foot pad-injected rats.  a365-700 v523 a<p>This study tested the possibility of developing an experimental model of neuropathy in female Wistar rats inoculated with Mycobacterium leprae in the foot pad and assessed by repeated electrophysiological methods. M. leprae multiplied in the rats but considerably less than in simultaneously inoculated mice. No acid-fast bacilli were found in nerves. Motor and sensory conduction velocities remained normal at the thigh level of the sciatic nerve. At the leg, they decreased significantly bilaterally for motor conduction and in the inoculated side for sensory conduction at 21 months after inoculation. These results suggest the possibility of developing an experimental model of leprosy neuropathy which might be useful for therapeutic research. Further histopathological studies are needed to assess this paucibacillary model.</p>  a0148-916X