Demyelination in newly-diagnosed leprosy neuropathy

Introduction:Neural damage may occur at any time during the course of leprosy. Some patients present a neuropathy with a paucity of symptoms, known as silent neuritis. Case reports:All patient nerves were altered on the sensory nerve conduction study (sNCS). Also, all the studied motor nerves of the patients presented a predominance of demyelinating lesion patterns associated with secondary axonal degeneration. Conclusion:These cases stress the vital importance of more precisely understanding the pathophysiology of leprosy neuropathy so that new, more effective drugs could be developed to both prevent and/or stymie the progression of disabilities.