01671nas a2200301   4500000000100000008004100001260001700042653001500059653001000074653002100084653002400105653001100129653001100140653001600151653001200167653000900179653001600188653002100204100001500225700001300240700001500253245008100268300001000349490000700359050003200366520095700398022001401355       2001                            d  c2001 Jan-Mar10aAdolescent10aAdult10aAge Distribution10aAntigens, Bacterial10aFemale10aHumans10aHypesthesia10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aSex Distribution1 aNatrajan M1 aKatoch K1 aKatoch V M00aPatients presenting with defined areas of sensory loss--a preliminary study.  a17-260 v73  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>Thirty patients presenting with circumscribed areas of clearly demonstrable hypoesthesia were chosen from amongst those attending this Institute. Their history and clinical features were recorded, lepromin test was done for reading at four weeks, and peripheral part of the hypoesthetic area was biopsied for histopathology and immunostaining. The subjects were predominantly adult males with the symptomatic sites limited to the extremities. On routine histopathological examination of the symptomatic sites, the diagnosis of leprosy, using defined criteria, could be made in six cases (20%). Immunostaining of the remaining sections showing either no pathology or a nonspecific pathology revealed the presence of mycobacterial antigen in five of the 24 cases (20.83%). Overall, leprosy could be diagnosed in 11 of the 30 cases studied (36.66%). This study shows that leprosy may be an important cause of circumscribed areas of sensory deficit.</p>  a0254-9395