02773nas a2200277   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653002400054653002500078653002600103653001200129653001500141653003300156100001300189700001300202700001300215700001400228700001200242700001400254245016400268856008200432300000800514490000700522520195200529022001402481       2023                            d  c01/202310aHansens’s disease10aMycobacterium leprae10aElectroneuromyography10aleprosy10aNeuropathy10aperipheral nerves/neurophaty1 aSantos D1 aBorges I1 aGarcia L1 aAntunes D1 aLuppi A1 aGoulart I00aDescription of electroneuromiographic and laboratorial findings in leprosy neuropathy, according to its clinical forms: the confirmation of a spectral disease.  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10801246/pdf/fmed-10-1304131.pdf  a1-90 v103 a<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Leprosy is one of the most common infectious cause of peripheral neuropathy in the world and can lead to sequelae and physical disabilities. Electroneuromyography (ENMG) is the gold-standard test for evaluating neural impairment, detecting from subclinical abnormalities to advanced lesions. This study aims to describe the electroneuromyographic findings in patients with leprosy, according to their clinical forms.</p>

<p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study is a retrospective observational analysis of the medical records of patients with leprosy, of a National Reference Center of Sanitary Dermatology and Leprosy in Brazil between 2014 and 2022. 513 patients underwent ENMG at leprosy diagnosis and also underwent a clinical, serological and molecular evaluation of the disease.</p>

<p><strong>Results: </strong>The electroneuromyographic findings showed 2,671 altered nerves, with an average of 6.9 (±5.1) altered nerves per patient. The most affected sensory nerves were the superficial peroneal (25.0%; 413/1649), sural (15.1%; 397/2627) and ulnar (13.8%; 363/2627), with average of 4.3 (±3.2) affected sensory nerves per patient. The most affected motor nerves were the ulnar (33.1%; 338/1022) and common peroneal (12.1%; 319/2627), with average of 2.6 (±2.5) motor nerves affected per patient. 126 patients presented normal ENMG and, among the 387 with abnormalities in the exam, 13.2% (51/387) had mononeuropathy and 86.8% (336/387) had multiple mononeuropathy. Axonal involvement was more frequent in primary neural leprosy, borderline-tuberculoid, borderline-lepromatous and lepromatous forms.</p>

<p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Our findings support that leprosy is a spectral disease, characterized by a balance between host immunity and bacillary load. Therefore, the impairment and electroneuromyographic characteristics are distinct and may vary according to the clinical form.</p>
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