02306nas a2200325   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002600055653002400081653001700105653001600122653001100138653001200149653003000161653000900191653001300200653002200213100002100235700001400256700002400270700001700294700001700311700001800328245005600346856007100402300000900473490000700482520147700489022001401966       1995                            d  c1995 Jan10aAntibodies, Bacterial10aAntigens, Bacterial10aDrug Therapy10aGlycolipids10aHumans10aleprosy10apolymerase chain reaction10aSkin10aThailand10aTreatment Outcome1 aWichitwechkarn J1 aKarnjan S1 aShuntawuttisettee S1 aSornprasit C1 aKampirapap K1 aPeerapakorn S00aDetection of Mycobacterium leprae infection by PCR.  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC227877/pdf/330045.pdf  a45-90 v333 a<p>PCR amplification of the 531-bp fragment of the Mycobacterium leprae pra gene in fresh biopsy and slit skin smear samples was evaluated for its usefulness in the detection of leprosy bacilli in patients in Thailand. In multibacillary patients, 87.1% (27 of 31) of biopsy specimens and 41.9% (13 of 31) of slit skin smear specimens were positive by PCR, whereas in paucibacillary patients, 36.4% (8 of 22) of biopsy specimens and 18.2% (4 of 22) of slit skin smear specimens yielded detectable PCR amplification. Compared with other diagnostic procedures, PCR showed a clear advantage over both microscopic examination of slit skin smears and serologic detection of anti-phenolic glycolipid 1 antibody, especially in paucibacillary patients when bacterial indexes were 0 and seropositivity was only 6.25%. PCR was also evaluated for its potential to help monitor bacterial clearance in some of these patients during chemotherapeutic treatment. The PCR results on slit skin smear samples at 1, 3, and 6 months of chemotherapy showed that the number of PCR-positive cases of both multibacillary and paucibacillary types decreased sequentially. The results of this study are encouraging. However, investigation of a larger number of clinical specimens with an improvement in PCR methods, especially on slit skin smears, needs to be done before PCR can be established as a diagnostic procedure for leprosy patients and subclinical cases or as a tool for drug assessment.</p>  a0095-1137