Secondary amyloidosis in lepromatous leprosy: possible relationships of diet and environment / ?

Some of the possible factors involved in the genesis of amyloidosis during the course of lepromatous leprosy have been studied. In a group of 101 patients from the U. S. Public Health Service Hospital at Carville, La., it is estimated that 40 to 50% have concomitant amyloidosis. This high proportion has been previously wll-documented by autopsy studies (2,3) and was suggested by a 31% positive result in 69 gingival biopsies among this group. Congo red results were often positive, particularly when accompanied by persistent albuminuria. The high percentage of amyloidosis at Carville lies in distict contrast to that of 119 patients studied at Guadalajara, Mexico, where amyloid was diagnosed in only 6%. Factors which may play some role in this different include discrepancies in animal fat consumption between the two population groups. Patients at Carville eat fewer calories but twice the percentage of saturated fat in their diet as compared to the Mexican group studied...

Regressive changes in leprosy under promin therapy

Under promin treatment, the improvement in leprosy is not accompanied by characteristics cellular changes. Those which do accur are predominantly atrophic in character, with extremely slow and gradual lessening of numbers of organisms in the lesions to the point of final disappearance in 10 of 32 cases examined. These changes do not differ materially from similar changes occurring in spontaneous remission without treatment of any sort, or during interim periods of inactivity or regression between phases of acute activity. The important findings is that promin appears to eliminate bacillary infection of the blood vessels and blood stream, thereby preventing the formation of new lesions. The atrophy of focal lesions is also more apparent in areas with a more generous blood supply. The results indicate strongly that the best results may be expected in those cases in which treatment is begun in a comparatively aerly stage of the disease. A more powerful bactericidal agent than promin appears necessary for the chemical destruction of bacilli within tissue cells, and especially those within globi.