01383nas a2200205   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653001200054653001700066653002300083100001400106700001900120245003500139856006100174300001100235490000600246050001700252520089400269022001401163       2012                            d  c06/201210aleprosy10aChemotherapy10aNeglected Diseases1 aBoechat N1 aPinheiro L C S00a[Leprosy and its Chemotherapy]  uhttp://www.uff.br/RVQ/index.php/rvq/article/view/236/243  a247-560 v4  aBOECHAT 20123 aLeprosy is a neglected tropical disease infectious, present in 141 countries and territories around the world. In 2010 were diagnosed around 245 thousand new cases, leaving Brazil as the 2nd largest number of cases worldwide. The first treatment of leprosy began in the 40s with the development of dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine. They were used as monotherapy presenting side effects and resistance to M. leprae. To overcome this problem the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced MultiDrug Therapy (MDT), which has shown to be quite effective, however the goal of leprosy elimination was still not achieved. Thus, there is the emerging need to search for new drugs that could be selective, effective and less toxic. This review presents historical aspects and relevance of this disease as well as recent advances from research on synthetic compounds and the current chemotherapy.  a1984-6835