Pauci- and Multibacillary Leprosy: Two Distinct, Genetically Neglected Diseases.

ABSTRACT: After sustained exposure to Mycobacterium leprae, only a subset of exposed individuals develops clinical leprosy. Moreover, leprosy patients show a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations that extend from the paucibacillary (PB) to the multibacillary (MB) form of the disease. This "polarization" of leprosy has long been a major focus of investigation for immunologists because of the different immune response in these two forms. But while leprosy per se has been shown to be under tight human genetic control, few epidemiological or genetic studies have focused on leprosy subtypes. Using PubMed, we collected available data in English on the epidemiology of leprosy polarization and the possible role of human genetics in its pathophysiology until September 2015. At the genetic level, we assemb

SUBMITTER: Gaschignard J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4878860 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature