Sechenov University told about the dangerous consequences of leprosy

Lepra or leprosy is an infectious disease caused by mycobacteria. If it is not treated, the patient may develop paresis or paralysis of the limbs due to damage to the nerve endings. This was explained to Izvestia on January 29 in the First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University). Doctors also told about the only case of the disease detected in Russia in the last two years.

Lepra has never been widespread in the Russian Federation. It is found in more than 120 countries. The leaders among them are Brazil, India, Indonesia.

"As a rule, cases of lepra in the Russian Federation are imported, as a result of migration, international travel and travel to endemic countries," said Ekaterina Grekova, a dermatovenerologist, associate professor at the Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases named after V.A. Rakhmanov of Sechenov University.

In 2020, 202 patients with leprosy were registered in the country. The expert noted that it is not so easy to get infected with leprosy. The disease is transmitted by airborne droplets through nasal and oral secretions during close and frequent contacts for months and years with untreated people. Percutaneous transmission by direct contact is extremely rare.

However, most people do not develop leprosy after contact with a sick person. Whether a person gets sick or becomes only a carrier of the infection, what type of leprosy he will have and how hard he will carry the disease depends on the immune system and genetic predisposition of a particular patient, explained an expert in the field of tropical dermatology, Professor of the Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases named after V.A. Rakhmanov. V.A. Rakhmanov Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases of Sechenov University Nikolay Kochergin.

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The first signs may appear months or years after infection. Among the main symptoms: runny nose, swelling and loss of sensation of the skin of hands and feet, muscle weakness, brownish-red or pigmented spots or plaques on the skin, mainly on the trunk and limbs. It is also characterized by the so-called "lion face" effect, manifested by thickening of the skin of the face, eyebrows and ears, the doctors clarified.

If leprosy is not treated, due to damage to the nerve endings of the patient may develop paresis or paralysis of the limbs, appear trophic ulcers and contractures on the feet, atrophy of muscles. Men due to scarring of the testicles develop infertility. And with a deviated nasal septum and depression of the back of the nose makes breathing difficult, the university explained.

It is noted that to prevent serious consequences in the world learned only with the invention of antibiotics. Currently, about 200 thousand cases of infection per year are registered in the world. Treat the sick in closed institutions for a year.

"Therapy is carried out using three drugs - dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine. The antileprosy activity of minocycline, ofloxacin, thalidomide and clarithromycin was also found," Grekova specified.

The only imported case in the country in the last two years was detected in the clinic of skin and venereal diseases named after V.A. Rakhmanov. V.A. Rakhmanov of Sechenov University. In 2023, a 24-year-old student of a Moscow university, who came to the capital from the Republic of Chad, turned to the doctors and told them how he had been suffering from skin problems for three years - he had rashes on his body, which itched. In the last year, swelling of the hands and feet began. Other symptoms included nasal discharge, papules on the oral mucosa and pigmented spots where the skin had lost sensitivity. The patient was referred for examination, after which the diagnosis of leprosy was confirmed. The student was treated and is now being monitored on an outpatient basis.

"Last year we went to the State Scientific Center of Dermatovenerology and Cosmetology for a consilium of doctors on this case. The patient had a repeat skin biopsy taken after a course of therapy, and the disease was not confirmed. His roommates were not found to have the disease either. However, monitoring continues," Grekova concluded.

Earlier, on January 27, Suna Isakova, a medical oncologist at SberZdorovye medical company, told Izvestia about osteoma, a rare benign disease characterized by bone overgrowth, most often of the skull bones. It is usually diagnosed after the age of 40 with equal frequency in men and women.