01746nas a2200313   4500000000100000008004100001260000900042653002600051653002300077653001600100653001100116653003000127653001100157653002500168653001600193653001800209653001900227653003000246653002600276100001600302700001300318700001400331700001500345245011200360300001000472490000600482520093000488022001401418       1992                            d  c199210aAntitubercular Agents10aBacterial Vaccines10aBCG Vaccine10aBiopsy10aCombined Modality Therapy10aHumans10aLeprosy, lepromatous10aLymphocytes10aMycobacterium10aPilot Projects10aSeverity of Illness Index10aVaccines, Inactivated1 aNatarajan M1 aKatoch K1 aBagga A K1 aKatoch V M00aHistological changes with combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy in highly bacillated lepromatous leprosy.  a79-860 v83 a<p>Highly bacillated untreated lepromatous cases with an initial BI 4+ of to 6+ were treated with combined multidrug treatment (MDT) and immunotherapy with heat killed Mycobacterium w or BCG. The vaccines were administered intradermally every six months. It was observed that majority of cases on immunotherapy showed increased lymphocytic infiltration (both at local and distant sites) and some cases showed epithelioid cells as well. The lymphocytic infiltration was (slightly) more vigorous in those vaccinated with Mycobacterium w. Such changes were not seen in the patients on MDT alone. Also, the granuloma fraction reduced much faster in cases who were on additional immunotherapy as compared to those on MDT alone. These changes along with evidence of clinical and bacteriological improvements suggest that immunotherapy may have an important supportive role specially in the therapy of anergic lepromatous cases.</p>  a0001-5938