Evaluation of the cutaneous sensation of the face in patients with different clinical forms of leprosy

RIMOXCLAMIN: New therapeutic regimen for Hansen's Disease cure based on effective sensitivity recovery

BACKGROUND

World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended Multidrug Therapy (MDT/WHO) for Hansen's Disease (HD) since 1982; nevertheless, relapse, antimicrobial resistance, and adverse reactions indicate the need for new therapeutic regimens. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of the new anti-HD regimen RIMOXCLAMIN (Rifampicin, Moxifloxacin, Clarithromycin, and Minocycline) compared with standard Multidrug Therapy provided by WHO (MDT/WHO).

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

66 multibacillary HD new cases (46: RIMOXCLAMIN / 20: MDT/WHO) were evaluated between 2015 and 2023. Patients were followed up at least bimonthly by hansenologists for neurological and cutaneous findings and side effects of treatments. Hands/feet tactile sensitivity tests by Semmes Weinstein Monofilaments (SWM) and Physical Disability Grade (PDG) were carried out on the diagnosis, 3rd, 6th, and 12th months. 84.8 % and 80 % of the patients were classified as Borderline-Borderline (BB) in RIMOXCLAMIN and MDT/WHO groups, respectively, with no significant difference between them (p = 0.12). Nerve thickening was reduced by palpation in both groups: in RIMOXCLAMIN, reduction occurred early (65 % to 28 % at 6-months, p = 0.03; 9 % at 12-months, p = 0.03), while in MDT/WHO, it was later (95 % to 40 % at 12-months, p = 0.002). The greatest difference was at 6 months (p < 0.0001). A significant reduction was observed in pain scales on the 3rd month of treatment only with RIMOXCLAMIN; in the end, both groups showed significant reductions in pain scales, being greater in RIMOXCLAMIN group. 0.5 % reduction in the number of abnormal SWM points on the hands compared to baseline, while in the MDT/WHO group, there was an increase of abnormal points of 5.4 %. On the feet, RIMOXCLAMIN showed a reduction of 17.9 %, while in the MDT/WHO, it was 10.3 %. During follow-up, the RIMOXCLAMIN showed a significant decrease in the sum of altered SWM points compared to MDT/WHO (p < 0.05). Only RIMOXCLAMIN improved PDG monitoring. Both groups reported mild adverse effects.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

The results indicate that RIMOXCLAMIN was superior to MDT/WHO in terms of quick recovery of neurological damage, evidenced by the improvement of symptoms and sensitivity in hands and feet as early as the third month, with a progressive improvement, maintained after the end of treatment, including a reduce of patients with PDG.

Evaluation of altered patterns of tactile sensation in the diagnosis and monitoring of leprosy using the Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments

Background

Leprosy neuropathy is the most common peripheral neuropathy of infectious etiology worldwide; it is characterized as asymmetric and focal multiple mononeuropathy. Semmes-Weinstein monofilament (SWM) test is a simple method to assess sensory nerve function.

Methods and findings

In this prospective cohort study, a dermatologist carried out hands and feet tactile sensation test with SWM in 107 multibacillary leprosy patients at diagnosis and in 76 patients at the end of treatment from 2016 to 2019. At diagnosis, 81/107 (75.7%) patients had some degree of functional disability, and 46 (43%) of them had altered SWM-test in the hands and 94 (87.9%) of them in the feet. After one year of multibacillary multidrug therapy, the disability decreasing to 44/76 patients (57.9%) and decreasing of the percentual of patients with altered SWM-test to 18% for the hands, and to 28.7% for the feet. At the end of treatment, the number of SMW-test points presented improvement in the hands of 22 (28.9%) patients, and in the feet of 47 (61.8%). In the hands, by SWM-test, only the radial nerve point demonstrated a significant asymmetry, while in the feet, the difference between the sum of altered SWM-test points showed significant asymmetry between both sides, highlighting the tibial nerve for the establishment of asymmetric leprosy neuropathy. In Spearman’s correlation analysis, a positive correlation with statistical significance was observed between the number of hands and feet SWM altered points at diagnosis and the degree of disability at diagnosis (0.69) and at the end of the treatment (0.80).

Conclusion

The patterns of hands and feet tactile sensation at diagnosis and their consequent modifications with the anti-leprosy drugs define the bacterial etiology of neuropathy, an important tool for the clinical diagnosis and follow up of the disease, highlighting the tibial nerve findings, the most affected nerve among leprosy patients by SWM-test, with significant asymmetry and focality impairments.

Global epidemiology of leprosy from 2010 to 2020: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the proportion of sex, type, grade 2 deformity and age

The objectives of this study were to explore global epidemiological characteristics of leprosy, and to provide reference for the construction of prevention strategies for leprosy. Computer retrieval of the study on the epidemiology of leprosy from 2010 to 2020 in Web of Science, PubMed, and SCOPUS databases were summarized. The included studies were assessed for the quality of the AHRQ; the proportions of the study indices were meta-analyzed with Stata 16.0. A random effects model was adopted to merge categories, including sex, type, grade 2 deformity (G2D) and age group for meta-analysis. The subgroup analysis used region as a stratification factor to analyze whether there were differences in the indicators. The meta-analysis included 30 studies totaling 11,353 cases. The global pooled proportion of male to female subjects with leprosy was 63% (95% CI 59%, 66%) to 37% (95% CI 34%, 41%), respectively. The pooled multibacillary proportion and paucibacillary proportion were 69% (95% CI 62%, 76%) and 31% (95% CI 24%, 38%), respectively. The pooled grade 2 deformity (G2D) proportion was 22% (95% CI 15%, 30%). Among age groups, the pooled children proportion was 11% (95% CI 8%, 13%), and the pooled adult proportion was 89% (95% CI 87%, 92%). The subgroup analysis indicated that epidemiological indicators varied from country to country. This study suggested that disparities existed between sex, type, grade 2 deformity (G2D) and age group characteristics of leprosy from country to country.

Development of an integrated, holistic care package for people with lymphoedema for use at the level of the Primary Health Care Unit in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a group of several communicable and non-communicable diseases prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. The co-endemicity of these diseases, the similarity of their clinical signs, and the need to maximize limited financial and human resources suggest the importance of adoptingan integratedapproach to their prevention and treatment.

AIMS

This study describes the development of a comprehensive package of physical, mental health and psychosocial care for people with lower-limb lymphoedema caused bypodoconiosis, lymphatic filariasis (LF)or leprosy as part of the EnDPoINT program in Ethiopia.

METHOD

The care package was developed using a mixed-methods approach, consisting of a literature review, situational analysis, Theory of Change (ToC) workshops, qualitative research, and additional workshops to fine-tune the draft care package. The care package was developed between March 2018 and January 2020 in Addis Ababa and the implementation research site, Awi zone in the North-West of Ethiopia.

RESULTS

The holistic care package includes components implemented at three levels of the health care system:health organization, facility, and community. Sections of the care package are directed at strengthening capacity building, program management, community engagement, awareness-raising, stigma-reduction, morbidity management, disability prevention, follow-up visits, referral linkage, community-based rehabilitation, and monitoring and evaluation.

CONCLUSIONS

The study developed a holistic integrated care package for lower limb disorder and co-morbid mental health problems caused by podoconiosis, LF or leprosy. The approach has the potential to significantly reduce lower limb disorder-associated morbidity, disability, and psychosocial problems. It also standardizes a scalable approach appropriate for the Ethiopian setting and, most likely, other countries where these NTDs are present.