02590nas a2200469   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653002400080653001700104653004600121653001100167653001800178653001000196653001000206653001600216653001400232653001100246653001200257653000900269653001600278653002500294653001200319653003900331653001800370653000900388653002900397653003200426100001300458700001300471700001200484700001400496700001100510245006100521856004100582300001100623490000700634050001400641520145100655022001402106       2000                            d  c2000 Dec10aAdolescent10aAdult10aAntigens, Bacterial10aAntigens, CD10aAntigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic10aBiopsy10aBlood Vessels10aChild10aChina10aGlycolipids10aGranuloma10aHumans10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aMycobacterium leprae10aNeurons10aPeripheral Nervous System Diseases10aS100 Proteins10aSkin10aSkin Diseases, Bacterial10aTumor Necrosis Factor-alpha1 aWeng X M1 aChen S Y1 aRan S P1 aZhang C H1 aLi H Y00aImmuno-histopathology in the diagnosis of early leprosy.  uhttp://ila.ilsl.br/pdfs/v68n4a04.pdf  a426-330 v68  aWENG 20003 a<p>The present study of 45 early leprosy cases in an endemic area in China indicates: a) Sensitivity of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) detection can be significantly improved by examining approximately 30 serial sections. AFB and/or phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) were mostly detected in the infiltrates in the subepidermal zone, intraneurium, perineurium and around blood vessels. b) PGL-I antigen was positive in 10 clinically suspected, single lesion leprosy cases and AFB positive in 7 patients, AFB and/or PGL-I in nerve in 6 patients. c) Nonspecific chronic inflammation in indeterminate leprosy presented as selective perineural and/or intraneural infiltration with lymphocytes predominating. In the infiltrating mass, fragments of neural tissue were demonstrated with anti-S-100 protein staining. d) Except for 3 cases with unknown numbers of lesions, the present positive immunohistopathological findings are in direct correlation with the number of lesions at first diagnosis, namely: 41.6% (10/24) for single lesion, 66.6% (6/9) for 2 lesions, and 88.8% (8/9) for patients with > or = 3 lesions. e) Typical epithelioid or macrophage granuloma formations were not seen in early leprosy with a single lesion. In testing the immunological inclination of these patients with CD68 or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) a positive test is likely to be of prognostic value since TNF-alpha is involved in granuloma formation and nerve damage.</p>  a0148-916X