[Photometric studies of the activity of dehydrogenases and nonspecific esterases in leprosy].

The enzymatic activity of dehydrogenases and nonspecific esterases in skin affections in leprosy and their dynamics under the effect of treatment were investigated photometrically. It has been found that pentosophosphate pathway oxidation was mostly pronounced in microbe-containing macrophages of the infiltrate in untreated patients with the lepromatous type of leprosy and less according to the Krebs cycle and glycolysis. The intensity of oxidative processes is reduced under the influence of treatment, mainly, due to considerable inhibition of glycose-6-phosphatdehydrogenase. The activity of nonspecific esterases before the treatment is high in leprosy macrophages and low in the epidermis (as compared with the norm). Under the effect of antileprosy therapy the esterase content in the epidermis is restored and in the macrophages is decreased significantly.