Open AccessDrug therapy of leprosy
Author(s) -
А. А. Кубанов,
А. А. Кубанов,
А. Э. Карамова,
А. Э. Карамова,
Avital Vorontsova,
Avital Vorontsova,
Polina Kalinina,
Polina Kalinina
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
vestnik dermatologii i venerologii
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2313-6294
pISSN - 0042-4609
DOI - 10.25208/0042-4609-2016-92-4-12-19
Subject(s) - clofazimine , leprosy , dapsone , rifampicin , mycobacterium leprae , medicine , disease , drug , immunology , clinical trial , pharmacotherapy , dermatology , tuberculosis , pharmacology , pathology
Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a chronic granulomatous bacterial infection mainly affecting the skin and peripheral nervous system yet also involving other organs and systems as a result of a pathological process. The causative agent of leprosy - Mycobacterium leprae - is an obligate intracellular microorganism. Despite the removal of a threat of a leprosy epidemic, European countries still record outbreaks of the disease mainly among migrants coming from endemic areas. A golden standard of the treatment of leprosy is a WHO-recommended combined drug therapy comprising drugs such as dapsone, clofazimine and rifampicin. The article provides current data on the mechanisms of action, efficacy and safety of these drugs and their combined scheme of treatment obtained as a result of clinical trials. Moreover, it also reviews new regimens of the drug therapy of leprosy including those with the use of drugs from the group of fluoroquinols as well as immunotherapy of the disease.