01585nas a2200277   4500000000100000008004100001260001700042653002400059653002600083653002400109653001200133653001600145653001100161653001200172653002500184100001400209700001700223700001500240700001400255245014100269300001000410490000700420050003200427520083400459022001401293       1992                            d  c1992 Oct-Dec10aAgglutination Tests10aAntibodies, Bacterial10aAntigens, Bacterial10aGelatin10aGlycolipids10aHumans10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae1 aMahajan P1 aJogaikar D G1 aJadhav V H1 aMehta J M00aGelatin particle agglutination assay to detect anti-PGL-I antibodies in leprosy patients and in household contacts: a preliminary study.  a461-70 v64  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>A preliminary study of anti-phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) IgM antibody detection using M. leprae gelatin particle agglutination (MLPA) test kit is described. Antibodies were demonstrated in 70% of our leprosy patients taking antileprosy treatment. The percentage of positivity of multibacillary cases was 86.0, whereas that of paucibacillary cases was 30.0. Good correlation was found between bacteriological index and the presence of antibodies. Antibodies were detected in 28% of our patients released from treatment. Fourteen out of 27 household contacts were found to have antibodies but none of the normal controls were seropositive. These preliminary data demonstrate that MLPA test is not applicable as sero-diagnostic test or as a test of cure, but may be useful for epidemiological studies and as a research tool.</p>  a0254-9395