Comparison of diaminodiphenylsulfone and thiosemicarbazone in the treatment of lepromatous leprosy; clinical and bacteriological evaluation in sixty hospitalized patients.

The recent introduction of diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) and the thiosemicarbazones represents a significant contribution in the treatment of leprosy. The efficacy of DDS has been confirmed by a number of well-controlled observations (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11). The effectiveness of thiosemicarbazone still remains to be evaluated (3, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14). For both drugs, the periods of observation have been brief. In the present report a comparison is made of the clinical and bacteriological results obtained in 60 cases of lepromatous leprosy treated as inpatients at the Hospital for Hansen's 'Disease in Jerusalem, with DDS or thiosemicarbazone or with DDS followed by thiosemicarbazone. The observations indicate that both drugs influence leprosy favorably, and that thiosemicarbazone is somewhat more efficacious than DDS.