02002nas a2200265   4500000000100000008004100001260000900042653001600051653002900067653001100096653001200107653002500119653002500144653000900169653001700178100001300195700001500208700001800223700001500241245012200256300001000378490001400388520132000402022001401722       1989                            d  c198910aBCG Vaccine10aClinical Trials as Topic10aHumans10aleprosy10aLeprosy, lepromatous10aMycobacterium leprae10aSkin10aTime Factors1 aKatoch K1 aNatrajan M1 aNarayanan R B1 aKatoch V M00aImmunotherapy of treated BL/LL cases with BCG: histopathological, immunohistological and bacteriological assessments.  a153-50 v7 Suppl 13 a<p>The persistence of dead as well as viable bacteria is an important therapeutic problem in multibacillary leprosy. In highly bacillated patients, viable bacteria are detectable in 10-15% of cases after 2 years of treatment and none of these cases became smear negative by 2 years of recommended multidrug therapy (MTD). Immunotherapy trials using BCG (0.1 mg) by intradermal route have been undertaken in cases who had MDT for 2 years and who had viable bacilli by ATP photometry and/or FDA-EB staining. Biopsies and smears were taken from local as well as distant sites at 0.4 weeks and 6 months after BCG vaccination. Biopsies were processed for ATP counts, FDA-EB staining, histopathology and immunohistology for cell types at 0.4 weeks. There was transient effect on BI, ATP counts, FDA-EB staining at local as well as distant sites in some cases. Histopathology and immunohistological findings suggest that there is tendency to form epithelioid cell granuloma at local site in all cases and at distal sites in some. There was infiltration of subepidermal zone in one case, 4 weeks after vaccination. BCG may be of use as potential immunotherapeutic agent but its usefulness needs to be investigated in depth preferably in the beginning or early phases of chemotherapy and with also repeated inoculations.</p>  a0001-5938