C-reative protein in serum of patients with leprosy

ABSTRACT

The levels of C-reative protein (CRP) in the sera of 100 patients with leprosy have been determined. This abnormal protein was found in 79 per cent of 47 cases of the lepromatous leprosy classed as "active" (i. e., not arrested), 30 per cent of 41 cases of apparently arrested lepromatous leprosy; and 58 per cent of 12 tuberculoid cases. Possible explanations for the absence of CRP in some of the active cases, and its presence in some of the apparently arrested cases, have been offered. The importance of long-term studies, with correlation of clinical course and serial determinations of CRP, is stressed. The presence of CRP in 19 of 24 cases of leprosy with secondary amyloidosis has been described. The relationship of CRP to amyloidosis is a yet unknown, but the present findings would suggest that the problem merits further study.