01929nas a2200457   4500000000100000008004100001260000900042653001500051653001000066653000900076653002400085653002300109653001800132653002000150653002100170653001100191653001100202653001300213653001200226653002800238653002600266653000900292653001600301653002500317653002400342653005200366653001900418653001600437653003200453100001400485700001200499700001400511700001500525700001300540700001600553245014500569300001100714490000700725520072500732022001401457       2006                            d  c200610aAdolescent10aAdult10aAged10aAntigens, Bacterial10aCell Proliferation10aCell Survival10aCells, Cultured10aErythema Nodosum10aFemale10aHumans10aLepromin10aleprosy10aLeukocytes, Mononuclear10aLymphocyte Activation10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aMycobacterium leprae10aPhytohemagglutinins10aReverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction10aRNA, Messenger10aThalidomide10aTumor Necrosis Factor-alpha1 aTadesse A1 aAbebe M1 aBizuneh E1 aMulugeta W1 aAseffa A1 aShannon E J00aEffect of thalidomide on the expression of TNF-alpha m-RNA and synthesis of TNF-alpha in cells from leprosy patients with reversal reaction.  a431-410 v283 a<p>Hypersensitivity reactions called reversal reaction (RR) and erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) occur in leprosy. They are characterized by an increase in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Thalidomide is an effective treatment for ENL but not RR. Its effectiveness in ENL is attributed to inhibition of TNF-alpha, and this does not explain its failure to treat RR. We assessed thalidomide's effect on TNF-alpha in RR. Mononuclear cells from RR and non-RR patients and healthy individuals were treated with thalidomide and M.leprae (AFB), a cytosol fraction of M. leprae or Dharmendra lepromin. Thalidomide suppressed TNF-alpha, but when some RR patients' cells were stimulated with AFB, it enhanced TNF-alpha.</p>  a0892-3973