[Desoxyfructo-serotonin: its therapeutic effect in the treatment of leprosy]. / La desoxyfructo-serotonine: son effet thérapeutique dans le traitement de la lèpre.

Desoxyfructo-serotonin (DFS) has shown good results in clinical trials of LL patients. After clinical trials in Bamako (Mali) reported in three articles, clinical trials began in India, at Bombay. Acute toxicity tests done in Paris and chronic toxicity tests done in India had shown absence of side effects. This was also confirmed after pre-clinical pharmacology. In vitro tests show that DFS enhances cellular immune response. Receptors for anti-erythrocyte antibody on LL macrophages are demonstrated by erythrocyte rosetting. Infection with M. leprae markedly reduces rosetting. But in the presence of DFS this reduction in rosetting is not observed. Patient's peripheral blood lymphocytes, sensitised with leprosy antigen, show a low level of rosetting with patients' macrophages. DFS greatly enhances the lymphocyte-macrophage interaction. DFS has an important anti-stress activity. Gastric ulcer induced in rats by restraint were reduced by 40% (Mester et al.) and 50% (Das Neves). DFS increased the uptake of serotonin by LL patients platelets. HPLC studies were done to see the level of DFS in the plasma, in the serum and in the urine of LL patients and controls. We are synthetising new lyposoluble derivatives in order to make easier the penetration of DFS and a long time effect.

Effect of deoxyfructoserotonin (DFS) on lepromatous leprosy.

To examine the anti-leprosy effect of deoxyfructoserotonin the drug was given in a dose of 10 mg/kg for 6 months to 6 patients with active lepromatous leprosy, in accordance with the WHO-THELEP protocol. Clinical and histological assessment and mouse foot-pad studies suggest that the drug has some anti-leprosy effect.

[Treatment of leprosy by human metabolites]. / Traitement de la lèpre par des métabolites humaines.

We are interested for other human metabolites than desoxyfructo-serotonin (DFS), showing antileprosy activity. This is the case of desoxyfructo-5-hydroxytryptophan and of some liposoluble derivatives of DFS. The time of resorption and penetration into M. leprae infected tissue, is very different for these metabolites. For this reason the simultaneous application of these compounds may represent some advantage in the treatment of multibacillar form of leprosy. The use of DFS together with the antileprosy diet "NAL" have the supplementary advantage to stabilize the DFS level in the serum during the treatment.

[Action of desoxyfructo-serotonin on Mycobacterium leprae. Results of inoculation of human biopsy specimens in the mouse after a year of treatment]. / Activité de la désoxyfructo-sérotonine sur Mycobacterium leprae. Résultats de l'inoculation de biopsies humaines à la souris après un an de traitement.

M. leprae, extracted from cutaneous biopsies of 4 out of 7 patients treated with DFS during one year at doses of 1000 to 1500 mg/day were injected in mouse foot pads. Bacterial multiplication was observed in each case. The purely bacteriostatic activity of DFS for M. leprae, previously observed in mice, is thus confirmed. The eventual place of DFS in the therapy of leprosy is discussed.

Deoxyfructo-serotonin: a new drug with anti-leprosy activity.

In the mouse foot pas, deoxyfructo-serotonin (DFS) shows a definite inhibitory effect on the multiplication of M. leprae in Dapsone-sensitive as well as Dapsone-resistant cases. In clinical trials, based on 7 cases treated with DFS for an average period of 6 months, the beneficial effects of DFS are observed after a few weeks of treatment in BB cases, and after a few months in LL cases. In addition to clear improvements in the appearance of the skin (regression and healing of nodules, almost complete disappearance of infiltration, etc) one observes in the majority of cases a rapid improvement in the bacteriological and morphological indexes, the latter falling to 0%. In the course of these studies, no single suggestion of intolerance was detected.