01915nas a2200349   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001800055653001600073653001600089653001900105653003000124653001100154653002300165653001200188653002800200653002500228653003000253653003200283653000900315100001200324700001500336700001300351700001400364700001500378245010100393856004100494300001100535490000700546520099800553022001401551       1994                            d  c1994 Dec10aBase Sequence10aColorimetry10aDNA Primers10aDNA, Bacterial10aDrug Therapy, Combination10aHumans10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aMolecular Sequence Data10aMycobacterium leprae10apolymerase chain reaction10aSensitivity and Specificity10aSkin1 aJamil S1 aWilson S M1 aHacket M1 aHussain R1 aStoker N G00aA colorimetric PCR method for the detection of M. leprae in skin biopsies from leprosy patients.  uhttp://ila.ilsl.br/pdfs/v62n4a02.pdf  a512-200 v623 a<p>A one-tube nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the diagnosis of paucibacillary leprosy was developed using the repetitive RLEP sequence as a target. Detection of the PCR products was simplified by the adaptation of a colorimetric method. The test was specific for Mycobacterium leprae, and the sensitivity of the assay was 1 fg of purified genomic M. leprae DNA (less than one genome). Complete concordance was seen between the development of color and resolution on agarose gels. The results of frozen skin sections from untreated patients showed that the assay could detect 100% of multibacillary samples [bacterial index (BI) of 2 or more] and 69% and 70% of the samples with BIs of 1 and 0, respectively. The use of one-tube nested PCR in assessing the effectiveness of multidrug therapy (MDT) in leprosy also was determined. The simplified colorimetric assay was found to be sensitive, rapid and specific, and is suitable for use in routing diagnostic laboratories.</p>
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