01707nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001653002700042653001400069653002100083653002100104653001200125653002300137653001400160100001500174700001500189700001000204700001100214700001200225700001500237700001300252700002000265245006100285300001100346490000800357520103800365022001401403       2019                            d10aCell mediated immunity10aCytokines10aHumoral immunity10aImmune responses10aleprosy10aMulti-drug therapy10aNutrition1 aDwivedi VP1 aBanerjee A1 aDas I1 aSaha A1 aDutta M1 aBhardwaj B1 aBiswas S1 aChattopadhyay D00aDiet and nutrition: An important risk factor in leprosy.  a1037140 v1373 a<p>Leprosy, once considered as poor man's disease may cause severe neurological complications and physical disabilities. Classification of leprosy depends upon the cell mediated and humoral immune responses of the host, from tuberculoid to lepromatous stage. Current therapy to prevent the disease is not only very lengthy but also consists of expensive multiple antibiotics in combination. Treatment and the duration depend on the bacillary loads, from six months in paucibacillary to a year in multibacillary leprosy. Although as per WHO recommendations, these antibiotics are freely available but still out of reach to patients of many rural areas of the world. In this review, we have focused on the nutritional aspect during the multi-drug therapy of leprosy along with the role of nutrition, particularly malnutrition, on susceptibility of Mycobacterium leprae and development of clinical symptoms. We further discussed the diet plan for the patients and how diet plans can affect the immune responses during the disease.</p>
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