The epidermal changes that occur in human cutaneous immune responses have been investigated in the tuberculin reaction and in the lesions of tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy and cutaneous leishmaniasis. In each situation, there was a dermal accumulation of monocytes and T cells, and the epidermis exhibited thickening. In the tuberculin response, the thickness of the epidermis sometimes doubl...

In this study, we measured in vitro proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from both leprosy patients across the clinical spectrum and also healthy contacts from a leprosy-endemic population to delipidified cell components of Mycobacterium leprae (DCC) and Dharmendra lepromin. Dharmendra lepromin was poor in inducing in vitro T cell proliferation in all the study groups, ...

Ultrathin sections of nerves of tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy were examined in an electron microscope for changes in endoneural blood vessels. In the tuberculoid nerves, hypertrophy of endothelial cells was the most prominent feature. This was to such an extent that the lumen of blood vessel was often closed. Endoneural blood vessels showed multilayers separated by collagen and ground sub...

The Ridley-Jopling classification places leprosy patients into a spectrum with polar tuberculoid (TT) and lepromatous (LL) and middle types of borderline tuberculoid (BT), mid-borderline (BB) and borderline lepromatous (BL) leprosy. These have been categorised, for treatment purposes, into paucibacillary (PB) and multibacillary (MB) depending on lesion counts and the results of skin smear exami...

We believe that NGOs, engaged in leprosy control in metropolitan cities where there are many dermatologists in medical colleges, or in private practice, have a special responsibility in implementing leprosy work in an integrated manner. It may be worthwhile narrating the experience of over 3 decades of the Bombay Leprosy Project (BLP) as the Project has been constantly striving to practise all ...

Histoid leprosy is a variant of lepromatous leprosy, which develops as a result of resistance to dapsone monotherapy. Here we report two cases of lepromatous leprosy of histoid type, one with typical and another with atypical presentations.