Abstract
Leprosy disease remains an important public health issue as it is still endemic in several countries. Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, presents tropism for cells of the reticuloendothelial and peripheral nervous system. Current multidrug therapy consists of clofazimine, dapsone and rifampicin. Despite significant improvements in leprosy treatment, in most programs, successful completion of the therapy is still sub-optimal. Drug resistance has emerged in some countries. This review discusses the status of leprosy disease worldwide, providing information regarding infectious agents, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, actual treatment and future perspectives and strategies on targets for an efficient targeted delivery therapy.
Highlights
Hansen’s disease or leprosy is a non-fatal old disease caused by a bacterium that affects a significant portion of the world population [1,2]
A recent study has demonstrated that cholesterol accumulates in infected macrophages by M. leprae, suggesting that the bacilli may be able to dysregulate host cell cholesterol homeostasis by increasing the uptake of native LDL-cholesterol [13]
The results showed that in vitro therapeutic doses of DAP and CLZ were found to be safe to use following the intravenous route of administration
Summary
Hansen’s disease or leprosy is a non-fatal old disease caused by a bacterium that affects a significant portion of the world population [1,2]. Nowadays, it is one the principal causes of non-traumatic peripheral neuropathy on a global scale [3]. The Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) belongs to the order Actinomycetales from the Mycobacteriaceae family This bacterium is an acid-fast obligate intracellular bacillus that appears as pleomorphic rods 1 to 8 μm long and 0.3 μm large [6,7]. A recent study has demonstrated that cholesterol accumulates in infected macrophages by M. leprae, suggesting that the bacilli may be able to dysregulate host cell cholesterol homeostasis by increasing the uptake of native LDL-cholesterol [13]
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