01961nas a2200277   4500000000100000008004100001653001200042653001700054653002100071653002500092653002300117653001700140100003600157700001500193700001600208700001600224700001700240700001300257700002300270700002600293245012200319856007800441300001400519490000700533520114300540       2014                            d10aleprosy10aTherapeutics10aDisabled Persons10aMycobacterium leprae10aNerve Degeneration10aEpidemiology1 aRibeiro de Araújo e Araújo AE1 aAquino DMC1 aGoulart IMB1 aPereira SRF1 aFigueiredo I1 aSerra HO1 aAlmeida Fonseca PC1 aJesus Mendes Caldas A00a[Neural complications and physical disabilities in leprosy in a capital of northeastern Brazil with high endemicity]   uhttp://www.scielo.br/pdf/rbepid/v17n4/pt_1415-790X-rbepid-17-04-00899.pdf  a899 - 9100 v173 aIntroduction: Leprosy is an infectious disease whose etiologic agent is Mycobacterium leprae, manifested
by dermatological and neurological signs and symptoms. Objective: To investigate neural changes and the degree of
physical disability in the eyes, hands and feet before and after treatment, as well as sociodemographic and clinical
profile of patients affected by leprosy. Method: A longitudinal epidemiological study comprising 155 patients with
leprosy, from a spontaneous demand, diagnosed between March 2010 and February 2011, and treated with multidrug
therapy (MDT) between March 2010 and July 2012 in a program for leprosy eradication in São Luis (MA), Brazil.
Results: Before treatment, 46.5% of patients were considered as borderline, 51.6% had some alteration in the
eyes and 52.3% in the feet, and the radial nerve (18.7%) was the most affected. There was a statistically significant
difference between the changes in the radial nerve at the beginning of and after treatment. Conclusions: The analysis
points to late diagnosis, as some patients have had abnormal neural and physical disabilities before treatment.