01742nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653002500058653002600083653002600109653002800135653001100163653001100174653002300185653001200208653001600220100001700236700001300253700001300266700001200279700001400291700001100305245006600316490000900382520104700391022001401438       2012                            d  c2012 Aug 1310aAntirheumatic Agents10aArthritis, Infectious10aArthritis, Rheumatoid10aDiagnosis, Differential10aFemale10aHumans10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aMiddle Aged1 aHenriques CC1 aLopéz B1 aMestre T1 aGrima B1 aPanarra A1 aRiso N00aLeprosy and rheumatoid arthritis: consequence or association?0 v20123 a<p>Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae with a high prevalence in some developing countries however, it is rarely seen in non-endemic regions. Arthritis has been described in all types of Hansen's disease. Chronic arthritis is known to exist even in paucibacillary forms, resolved or treated disease and in patients without reaction, suggesting a perpetuated inflammatory process. In these cases leprosy can mimic some autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. When a patient with a history of leprosy presents with a symmetric, distal, polyarthritis the diagnosis may not be linear. Possibly it is a rheumatoid-like leprous arthritis with M leprae acting as the trigger element for the chronic process or it is an overlap condition, with a concomitant rheumatoid arthritis? A case report of a patient with a chronic inflammatory arthritis with 10 years of evolution is presented. The differential diagnosis between leprous and rheumatoid arthritis is discussed.</p>  a1757-790X