01466nas a2200145   4500000000100000008004100001100001600042700001300058700001400071245009200085856007100177300001200248490000700260520105300267       2016                            d1 aWidasmara D1 aAgusni I1 aTurchan A00aEvaluation of Myelin Sheath Marker Krox-20 for Detection of Early Disability in Leprosy  uhttp://www.ijl.org.in/2016/3%20D%20Widasmar%20et%20al(105-110).pdf  a105-1100 v883 a<p>Early diagnosis of nerve damage in leprosy is quite important for preventing the deformities. With an aim to find a good marker we have investigated Krox-20 as early peripheral nerve damage indicator in leprosy. Ambulatory patients of Kediri Leprosy Hospital, Malang, Indonesia have been studied. Degree of disability was measured based on WHO's criteria. Immunohistochemistry was used to study the expression of Krox-20 on Schwann cells on nerve twigs in skin biopsies from leprosy cases. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine cut off value. Of all 79 leprosy patients studied, 36 patiens had degree of disability 0, and 43 patients had degree of disability 1. Analysis of ROC curve shown that cut off value for Krox- 20, was 8 and the cases in whom degree of disability was 0 (zero) had significantly higher mean values than those with degree of disability 1 (mean: 12.56 <em>vs </em>4.24 (p&lt;0.05)). Krox-20 appears to be a potentially good biomarker to identify early peripheral nerve damage in leprosy.</p>