Why do we use 100†mg of clofazimine in TB and NTM treatment?

Current tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease guidelines recommend the use of clofazimine in a 100 mg once-daily dose. The rationale behind this exact dose is not provided. I performed a literature review to determine the reasoning behind the current dosing regimen. The current 100 mg once-daily dose of clofazimine stems from a deliberate attempt to find the minimum effective daily dose in leprosy treatment, driven by efficacy, economical and toxicity considerations. While this dose is safe, economical and practical, a higher dose with a loading phase may add relevant efficacy and treatment-shortening potential to both tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease treatment. We need to revisit dose-response and maximum tolerated dose studies to get the best out of this drug, while continuing efforts to generate more active r-iminophenazine molecules that accumulate less in skin and intestinal tissues and have pharmacokinetic properties that do not require loading doses.

Development of a multivariate predictive model for dapsone adverse drug events in people with leprosy under standard WHO multidrug therapy.

BACKGROUND: The occurrence of adverse drug events (ADEs) during dapsone (DDS) treatment in patients with leprosy can constitute a significant barrier to the successful completion of the standardized therapeutic regimen for this disease. Well-known DDS-ADEs are hemolytic anemia, methemoglobinemia, hepatotoxicity, agranulocytosis, and hypersensitivity reactions. Identifying risk factors for ADEs before starting World Health Organization recommended standard multidrug therapy (WHO/MDT) can guide therapeutic planning for the patient. The objective of this study was to develop a predictive model for DDS-ADEs in patients with leprosy receiving standard WHO/MDT. METHODOLOGY: This is a case-control study that involved the review of medical records of adult (≥18 years) patients registered at a Leprosy Reference Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The cohort included individuals that received standard WHO/MDT between January 2000 to December 2021. A prediction nomogram was developed by means of multivariable logistic regression (LR) using variables. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test was used to determine the model fit. Odds ratios (ORs) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. The predictive ability of the LRM was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: A total of 329 medical records were assessed, comprising 120 cases and 209 controls. Based on the final LRM analysis, female sex (OR = 3.61; 95% CI: 2.03-6.59), multibacillary classification (OR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.39-4.66), and higher education level (completed primary education) (OR = 1.97; 95% CI: 1.14-3.47) were considered factors to predict ADEs that caused standard WHO/MDT discontinuation. The prediction model developed had an AUC of 0.7208, that is 72% capable of predicting DDS-ADEs. CONCLUSION: We propose a clinical model that could become a helpful tool for physicians in predicting ADEs in DDS-treated leprosy patients.

Minimal effective dose of bedaquiline administered orally and activity of a long acting formulation of bedaquiline in the murine model of leprosy.

BACKGROUND: Bedaquiline (BDQ), by targeting the electron transport chain and having a long half-life, is a good candidate to simplify leprosy treatment. Our objectives were to (i) determine the minimal effective dose (MED) of BDQ administered orally, (ii) evaluate the benefit of combining two inhibitors of the respiratory chain, BDQ administered orally and clofazimine (CFZ)) and (iii) evaluate the benefit of an intramuscular injectable long-acting formulation of BDQ (intramuscular BDQ, BDQ-LA IM), in a murine model of leprosy. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To determine the MED of BDQ administered orally and the benefit of adding CFZ, 100 four-week-old female nude mice were inoculated in the footpads with 5x103 bacilli of M. leprae strain THAI53. Mice were randomly allocated into: 1 untreated group, 5 groups treated with BDQ administered orally (0.10 to 25 mg/kg), 3 groups treated with CFZ 20 mg/kg alone or combined with BDQ administered orally 0.10 or 0.33 mg/kg, and 1 group treated with rifampicin (RIF) 10 mg/kg. Mice were treated 5 days a week during 24 weeks. To evaluate the benefit of the BDQ-LA IM, 340 four-week-old female swiss mice were inoculated in the footpads with 5x103 to 5x101 bacilli (or 5x100 for the untreated control group) of M. leprae strain THAI53. Mice were randomly allocated into the following 11 groups treated with a single dose (SD) or 3 doses (3D) 24h after the inoculation: 1 untreated group, 2 treated with RIF 10 mg/kg SD or 3D, 8 treated with BDQ administered orally or BDQ-LA IM 2 or 20 mg/kg, SD or 3D. Twelve months later, mice were sacrificed and M. leprae bacilli enumerated in the footpad. All the footpads became negative with BDQ at 3.3 mg/kg. The MED of BDQ administered orally against M. leprae in this model is therefore 3.3 mg/kg. The combination of CFZ and BDQ 10-fold lower than this MED did not significantly increase the bactericidal activity of CFZ. The BDQ-LA IM displayed similar or lower bactericidal activity than the BDQ administered orally. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that the MED of BDQ administered orally against M. leprae was 3.3 mg/kg in mice and BDQ did not add significantly to the efficacy of CFZ at the doses tested. BDQ-LA IM was similar or less active than BDQ administered orally at equivalent dosing and frequency but should be tested at higher dosing in order to reach equivalent exposure in further experiments.

Clofazimine: A journey of a drug.

Among different strategies to develop novel therapies, drug repositioning (aka repurposing) aims at identifying new uses of an already approved or investigational drug. This approach has the advantages of availability of the extensive pre-existing knowledge of the drug's safety, pharmacology and toxicology, manufacturing and formulation. It provides advantages to the risk-versus-rewards trade-off as compared to the costly and time-consuming de novo drug discovery process. Clofazimine, a red-colored synthetic derivative of riminophenazines initially isolated from lichens, was first synthesized in the 1950 s, and passed through several phases of repositioning in its history as a drug. Being initially developed as an anti-tuberculosis treatment, it was repurposed for the treatment of leprosy, prior to re-repositioning for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and other infections. Since 1990 s, reports on the anticancer properties of clofazimine, both in vitro and in vivo, started to appear. Among the diverse mechanisms of action proposed, the activity of clofazimine as a specific inhibitor of the oncogenic Wnt signaling pathway has recently emerged as the promising targeting mechanism of the drug against breast, colon, liver, and other forms of cancer. Seventy years after the initial discovery, clofazimine's journey as a drug finding new applications continues, serving as a colorful illustration of drug repurposing in modern pharmacology.

Open-Label Trial of Amikacin Liposome Inhalation Suspension in Mycobacterium abscessus Lung Disease.

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium abscessus is the second most common nontuberculous mycobacterium respiratory pathogen and shows in vitro resistance to nearly all oral antimicrobials. M abscessus treatment success is low in the presence of macrolide resistance. RESEARCH QUESTION: Does treatment with amikacin liposome inhalation suspension (ALIS) improve culture conversion in patients with M abscessus pulmonary disease who are treatment naive or who have treatment-refractory disease? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In an open-label protocol, patients were given ALIS (590 mg) added to background multidrug therapy for 12 months. The primary outcome was sputum culture conversion defined as three consecutive monthly sputum cultures showing negative results. The secondary end point included development of amikacin resistance. RESULTS: Of 33 patients (36 isolates) who started ALIS with a mean age of 64 years (range, 14-81 years), 24 patients (73%) were female, 10 patients (30%) had cystic fibrosis, and nine patients (27%) had cavitary disease. Three patients (9%) could not be evaluated for the microbiologic end point because of early withdrawal. All pretreatment isolates were amikacin susceptible and only six isolates (17%) were macrolide susceptible. Eleven patients (33%) were given parenteral antibiotics. Twelve patients (40%) received clofazimine with or without azithromycin as companion therapy. Fifteen patients (50%) with evaluable longitudinal microbiologic data demonstrated culture conversion, and 10 patients (67%) sustained conversion through month 12. Six of the 33 patients (18%) demonstrated mutational amikacin resistance. All were patients using clofazimine or clofazimine plus azithromycin as companion medication(s). Few serious adverse events occurred for ALIS users; however, reduction of dosing to three times weekly was common (52%). INTERPRETATION: In a cohort of patients primarily with macrolide-resistant M abscessus, one-half of the patients using ALIS showed sputum culture conversion to negative findings. The emergence of mutational amikacin resistance was not uncommon and occurred with the use of clofazimine monotherapy. TRIAL REGISTRY: ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT03038178; URL: www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov.

Thalidomide and steroid in the management of erythema nodosum leprosum.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to assess the efficacy and safety profiles of combined treatment of prednisolone with thalidomide (Gr-A) and prednisolone with clofazimine (Gr. B) in patients with erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) or type 2 lepra reactions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Efficacy of both regimens was assessed on the basis of clinical recovery of recurrent ENL measured by reaction severity score (RSS), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and recurrence of type 2 lepra reaction. The causality assessment of adverse drug reactions was done using the WHO UMC causality assessment scale. RESULTS: The average age of patients with recurrent ENL was 42.8 years (male) and 51.8yrs (female) and had mean duration of leprosy and recurrent ENL 2.4 years and 2.09 years, respectively. 80% of nonrecurrence was observed in Gr-A versus 66% in Gr-B. Significant (P < 0.05) lower RSS and VAS was found in both the treatment groups as compared to pretreatment value. The reduction in RSS and VAS was statistically significant (P < 0.05) in Gr-A compared to Gr-B treatment. CONCLUSION: Thalidomide combination with steroid was found to be more efficacious than clofazimine combination with steroid in the treatment of ENL both the treatment regimens showed few tolerable side effects. Improved strategies for the treatment and management of these reactions need to be developed.

The influence of leprosy-related clinical and epidemiological variables in the occurrence and severity of COVID-19: A prospective real-world cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Protective effects of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination and clofazimine and dapsone treatment against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection have been reported. Patients at risk for leprosy represent an interesting model for assessing the effects of these therapies on the occurrence and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We assessed the influence of leprosy-related variables in the occurrence and severity of COVID-19. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We performed a 14-month prospective real-world cohort study in which the main risk factor was 2 previous vaccinations with BCG and the main outcome was COVID-19 detection by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A Cox proportional hazards model was used. Among the 406 included patients, 113 were diagnosed with leprosy. During follow-up, 69 (16.99%) patients contracted COVID-19. Survival analysis showed that leprosy was associated with COVID-19 (p<0.001), but multivariate analysis showed that only COVID-19-positive household contacts (hazard ratio (HR) = 8.04; 95% CI = 4.93-13.11) and diabetes mellitus (HR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.04-4.06) were significant risk factors for COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Leprosy patients are vulnerable to COVID-19 because they have more frequent contact with SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, possibly due to social and economic limitations. Our model showed that the use of corticosteroids, thalidomide, pentoxifylline, clofazimine, or dapsone or BCG vaccination did not affect the occurrence or severity of COVID-19.

Low rate of relapse after twelve-dose multidrug therapy for hansen's disease: A 20-year cohort study in a brazilian reference center.

The World Health Organization has raised concerns about the increasing number of Hansen disease (HD) relapses worldwide, especially in Brazil, India, and Indonesia that report the highest number of recurrent cases. Relapses are an indicator of MDT effectiveness and can reflect Mycobacterium leprae persistence or re-infection. Relapse is also a potential marker for the development or progression of disability. In this research, we studied a large cohort of persons affected by HD treated with full fixed-dose multibacillary (MB) multidrug therapy (MDT) followed for up to 20 years and observed that relapses are a rare event. We estimated the incidence density of relapse in a cohort of patients classified to receive MB regime (bacillary index (BI) > 0), diagnosed between September 1997 and June 2017, and treated with twelve-dose MB-MDT at a HD reference center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We obtained the data from the data management system of the clinic routine service. We linked the selected cases to the dataset of relapses of the national HD data to confirm possible relapse cases diagnosed elsewhere. We diagnosed ten cases of relapse in a cohort of 713 patients followed-up for a mean of 12.1 years. This resulted in an incidence rate of 1.16 relapse cases per 1000 person-year (95% CI = 0.5915-2.076). The accumulated risk was 0.025 in 20 years. The very low risk observed in this cohort of twelve-dose-treated MB patients reinforces the success of the current MDT scheme.

Clofazimine broadly inhibits coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the third outbreak this century of a zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus, following the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 20031 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 20122. Treatment options for coronaviruses are limited. Here we show that clofazimine-an anti-leprosy drug with a favourable safety profile3-possesses inhibitory activity against several coronaviruses, and can antagonize the replication of SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV in a range of in vitro systems. We found that this molecule, which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, inhibits cell fusion mediated by the viral spike glycoprotein, as well as activity of the viral helicase. Prophylactic or therapeutic administration of clofazimine in a hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis led to reduced viral loads in the lung and viral shedding in faeces, and also alleviated the inflammation associated with viral infection. Combinations of clofazimine and remdesivir exhibited antiviral synergy in vitro and in vivo, and restricted viral shedding from the upper respiratory tract. Clofazimine, which is orally bioavailable and comparatively cheap to manufacture, is an attractive clinical candidate for the treatment of outpatients and-when combined with remdesivir-in therapy for hospitalized patients with COVID-19, particularly in contexts in which costs are an important factor or specialized medical facilities are limited. Our data provide evidence that clofazimine may have a role in the control of the current pandemic of COVID-19 and-possibly more importantly-in dealing with coronavirus diseases that may emerge in the future.

Adverse effects of polychemotherapy for leprosy in 13 years of follow-up at a university hospital

Abstract Leprosy is one of the neglected diseases in the world and Brazil is the second country with more cases. A retrospective study was conducted based on the medical records of 196 leprosy patients diagnosed during the course of 13 years at a university hospital. The aim was to describe the adverse effects of polychemotherapy, as well the most prevalent and most vulnerable populations. In the study, dapsone was the most implicated drug, especially in women, and the risk increased with age. The authors conclude that with this patient profile, greater vigilance should be taken regarding possible adverse effects, especially anemia.

Adverse effects of polychemotherapy for leprosy in 13 years of follow-up at a university hospital.

Leprosy is one of the neglected diseases in the world and Brazil is the second country with more cases. A retrospective study was conducted based on the medical records of 196 leprosy patients diagnosed during the course of 13 years at a university hospital. The aim was to describe the adverse effects of polychemotherapy, as well the most prevalent and most vulnerable populations. In the study, dapsone was the most implicated drug, especially in women, and the risk increased with age. The authors conclude that with this patient profile, greater vigilance should be taken regarding possible adverse effects, especially anemia.

Chronic Unilateral Uveitis as a Manifestation of Leprosy: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Purpose: To describe a case of leprosy presenting chronic anterior uveitis associated with other systemic lesions.Methods: Case report and systematic literature review.Results: We describe the case of a 65-year-old patient presenting clinical features of chronic uveitis and poor response to topical and intravitreal steroid treatment. Upon ocular examination, diffuse iris atrophy and macular edema were observed and laboratory tests for autoimmune and infectious diseases were within normal range. Physical examination revealed the presence of skin lesions on trunk and extremities, which were biopsied and identified as positive for leprosy.Conclusion: The case reported herein presented atypical characteristics of uveitis due to the involvement of the posterior segment of the eye. Leprosy diagnosis could be a challenge, a systematic approach is mandatory to achieve adequate treatment.

Clofazimine in Mycobacterium abscessus peritonitis: A pediatric case report.

Peritonitis- and catheter-related infections due to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) including Mycobacterium abscessus have been reported among adults on peritoneal dialysis (PD). There is no recommended antimicrobial regimen for the treatment of M. abscessus peritonitis. Clofazimine has emerged as an important adjuvant antimicrobial treatment of M. abscessus lung infection. We report, to our knowledge, the first case of M. abscessus PD peritonitis in a child treated successfully using clofazimine as a novel adjuvant therapy to amikacin and clarithromycin. Her clinical features were similar to those of bacterial peritonitis, but she had persistence of symptoms and high inflammatory markers despite empirical therapy for peritonitis. Bacterial culture of PD effluent became positive for M. abscessus after 5 days. There was complete symptom resolution after 6 days of multidrug therapy. Due to ototoxicity, amikacin was discontinued after 6 weeks, while clarithromycin and clofazimine were continued for 9 months to ensure complete pathogen eradication before a planned renal transplant. A high index of suspicion in refractory or culture-negative cases is important for the diagnosis of NTM peritonitis. Multidrug therapy is recommended for M. abscessus infections. Clofazimine was chosen as a novel adjunct antimicrobial because of its pharmacokinetics, ease of administration, cost-effectiveness, and lack of serious adverse events.

Validação de modelo murino para avaliação da atividade antibacteriana de ofloxacina e clofazimina contra o Mycobacterium leprae / Validation of a murine model for the evaluation of the antibacterial activity of ofloxacin and clofazimine against Mycobacterium leprae

A hanseníase é uma doença infectocontagiosa crônica causada pelo Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae). Manifesta-se, principalmente, por lesões de pele com alteração de sensibilidade térmica, dolorosa e tátil, decorrentes da predileção de seu agente etiológico por células cutâneas e nervosas periféricas. No mundo, em 2018, foram reportados à Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), 208.619 casos novos; desses, 28.660 foram notificados no Brasil, sendo o segundo país com maior número detectado. Acredita-se que a transmissão e infecção ocorram através de secreções provenientes das vias aéreas superiores, pelo contato íntimo e prolongado de indivíduo suscetível com paciente multibacilar sem tratamento, por meio da inalação dos bacilos. O tratamento preconizado pela OMS consiste na associação de três medicamentos ­ dapsona (DDS), rifampicina (RFP) e clofazimina (CLO) ­ com o objetivo de atuar na prevenção da seleção de cepas mutantes do M. leprae resistentes a uma ou mais drogas utilizadas. A ofloxacina (OFLO) é usada como esquema alternativo ao tratamento padrão, associando-se a RFP e CLO, sendo útil nos casos de resistência medicamentosa ou intolerância a uma das drogas. O bacilo não se reproduz em meios de cultura artificiais ou celulares ­ obstáculo para o avanço em estudos do patógeno. Em 1960, Charles Shepard, demonstrou pela primeira vez a multiplicação do M. leprae em coxim plantar de camundongo imunocompetente, técnica considerada marco na pesquisa do bacilo, propiciando a verificação de sua viabilidade e uma possível resistência às drogas utilizadas no tratamento da doença. O presente estudo teve como objetivo validar o método fenotípico, por meio da inoculação do bacilo em coxim plantar posterior de camundongos imunocompetentes da linhagem BALB/c (técnica de Shepard), para detecção de sensibilidade à CLO e OFLO. Os animais foram inoculados com suspensão de bacilos obtidos de camundongos nude mouse atímicos previamente infectados com a cepa Thai53, que possui perfil genético de sensibilidade às drogas, e divididos em grupo controle (não tratado), RFP (10mg/kg), CLO (50mg/kg) e OFLO (150mg/kg). Após cinco meses de inoculação e tratamento, os animais foram eutanasiados, e os coxins excisados para contagem do número de bacilos e análise histopatológica. No grupo controle, o número de bacilos recuperados foi maior que 1,0x105 /coxim, compatível com multiplicação bacilar; a análise histopatológica evidenciou infiltrado inflamatório intenso com bacilos agrupados ou em globias, íntegros e bem corados. Nos grupos tratados, não foi observada evidência de multiplicação bacilar, mostrando sensibilidade às drogas testadas; a análise histopatológica evidenciou infiltrado inflamatório discreto a moderado com ausência de bacilos. A técnica de Shepard é considerada padrão ouro para a multiplicação do bacilo, sendo fundamental para validar a identificação de novos alvos de mutação em genes determinantes da ação das drogas anti-hansênicas. Os resultados gerados no presente estudo terão grande impacto, principalmente para compreender a falha terapêutica em pacientes com recidiva que não apresentaram perfil de resistência pelos mecanismos moleculares até o momento descritos para a doença.

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae). It is mainly manifested by skin lesions with changes in thermal, sensory and tactile sensitivity resulting from the predilection of its etiologic agent by skin and peripheral nerve cells. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 208,619 new cases in 2018 worldwide; among these, 28,660 were reported in Brazil, the second country with the highest number detected. It is believed that transmission and infection occur by inhaling bacilli through the upper airways, while in close and prolonged contact of a susceptible individual with an untreated multibacillary patient. The treatment recommended by the WHO consists of the combination of three drugs -dapsone (DDS), rifampicin (RFP) and clofazimine (CLO) - in order to prevent the selection of mutant M. leprae strains resistant to one or more drugs. Ofloxacin (OFLO) is used as an alternative regimen to standard treatment, in association with RFP and CLO, being useful in cases of drug resistance or intolerance to one of the drugs. The bacillus does not reproduce in artificial or cellular culture media - an obstacle to progress in studies of the pathogen. In 1960, Charles Shepard, demonstrated for the first time the multiplication of M. leprae in an immunocompetent mouse footpad, a technique considered a landmark in the bacillus research, enabling the verification of its viability and a possible resistance to drugs used in the treatment of the disease. The present study aimed to validate the phenotypic method, by inoculating the bacillus in the hind footpads of immunocompetent BALB/c mice strain (Shepard's technique), to detect sensitivity to CLO and OFLO. The animals were inoculated with a suspension of bacilli obtained from athymic nude mouse previously infected with the Thai-53 strain, a sensitive strain. Mice were divided into a control (untreated), RFP (10mg / kg), CLO (50mg / kg) and OFLO (150mg / kg) groups. After five months of inoculation and treatment, the animals were euthanized and the foopads excised for enumeration of bacilli and histopathological analysis. In the control group, the number of bacilli recovered was greater than 1.0x105 /footpad, compatible with bacillary multiplication; histopathological analysis showed an intense inflammatory infiltrate with well stained grouped bacilli and globi. In the treated groups, there was no evidence of bacillary multiplication, showing sensitivity to the drugs tested; histopathological analysis showed mild to moderate inflammatory infiltrate with no bacilli. The Shepard technique is considered the gold standard for bacillus multiplication, being essential to validate the identification of new mutation targets in genes that determine anti-leprosy drugs activity. The results generated in the present study will have a great impact, mainly to understand the therapeutic failure in patients with recurrence who did not present a resistance profile using molecular mechanisms described so far for the disease.

Multidrug therapy for leprosy can cure patients with lobomycosis in Acre State, Brazil: a proof of therapy study

Lobomycosis, also referred to as lacaziosis, is an endemic cutaneous and subcutaneous fungal disease that mainly affects Amazonian forest dwellers in Brazil. There is no disease control program in place in Brazil, and antifungal therapy failures are common, and the therapy is inaccessible to most patients. We performed a randomized, unblinded clinical trial testing the cure rate of multiple drug therapy (MDT) for leprosy with surgical excision, with or without itraconazole. A control arm consisted of patients who did not adhere to either therapeutic regimens but continued to be followed up. Multiple drug therapy consisted of monthly supervised doses of 600 mg rifampicin, 300 mg clofazimine, and 100 mg dapsone, in addition to daily doses of 50 mg clofazimine and 100 mg dapsone. The patients in the MDT plus itraconazole arm also received itraconazole 100 mg twice daily. We followed up 54 patients from the MDT group and 26 patients from the MDT plus itraconazole group for an average of 4 years and 9 months. The 23 controls were followed up for 6 months on average. The following endpoints were observed: 1) unchanged (no apparent improvement), 2) improved (reduction in lesion size and/or pruritus), and 3) cured (complete remission of the lesions, no viable fungi, and no relapse for 2 years after the end of the drug treatment). The results indicated a significantly greater likelihood of cure associated with the use of multidrug therapy for leprosy with or without itraconazole when compared with the control group. The addition of itraconazole to MDT was not associated with improved outcomes, suggesting that MDT alone is effective(AU).

Lepromatous leprosy presenting with type II reaction before and type I reaction after treatment.

Lepromatous leprosy is associated with a high bacillary load and poor cellular immune response. Early dermatologic manifestations include erythematous macules, papules, nodules, and plaques with a symmetrical distribution. Leprosy also shows two major reaction states including type I (reversal reaction) and type II (vasculitis). These reactions are usually seen in some patients who are undergoing treatment. Herein, we report an interesting patient with lepromatous leprosy who presented with skin lesions of type II reaction without receiving any anti-leprosy treatment and surprisingly showed a type I reaction eight months after the beginning of the treatment.