TY - JOUR
KW - Oncology
KW - Clinical Neurology
AU - Granger DL
AU - Rosado-Santos H
AU - Lo T
AU - Florell S
AU - Shimwella R
AB - Abstract
In the earliest stage of Mycobacterium leprae infection bacteria parasitize fine fiber twigs of autonomic peripheral nerves supplying efferent impulses to appendages of the skin. This obligate intracellular pathogen invades Schwann cells, the glial cells of peripheral nerves. Intracellular events inhibit Schwann cell physiology in complex ways which include demyelination and dedifferentiation. Ultimately axons embraced by their surrounding dysfunctional glia are damaged by poorly understood mechanisms. Loss of nerve conduction impairs the functions of skin appendages including hair growth, sebaceous gland secretion, sweating, and skin pigmentation. At the clinical level these changes may be subtle and may precede the more obvious anesthetic skin lesions associated with Hansen’s disease. Recognizing the early signs of skin appendage malfunction may aid in diagnosis leading to initiation of antimycobacterial treatment. Effective therapy administered early during infection may prevent irreversible peripheral nerve destruction, the presage for morbid complications of leprosy.
BT - Open Forum Infectious Diseases
DO - 10.1093/ofid/ofaa419
LA - eng
M3 - Thesis
N2 - Abstract
In the earliest stage of Mycobacterium leprae infection bacteria parasitize fine fiber twigs of autonomic peripheral nerves supplying efferent impulses to appendages of the skin. This obligate intracellular pathogen invades Schwann cells, the glial cells of peripheral nerves. Intracellular events inhibit Schwann cell physiology in complex ways which include demyelination and dedifferentiation. Ultimately axons embraced by their surrounding dysfunctional glia are damaged by poorly understood mechanisms. Loss of nerve conduction impairs the functions of skin appendages including hair growth, sebaceous gland secretion, sweating, and skin pigmentation. At the clinical level these changes may be subtle and may precede the more obvious anesthetic skin lesions associated with Hansen’s disease. Recognizing the early signs of skin appendage malfunction may aid in diagnosis leading to initiation of antimycobacterial treatment. Effective therapy administered early during infection may prevent irreversible peripheral nerve destruction, the presage for morbid complications of leprosy.
PB - Oxford University Press (OUP)
PY - 2020
T2 - Open Forum Infectious Diseases
TI - Functional impairment of skin appendages due to peripheral nerve involvement by Mycobacterium leprae
UR - https://watermark.silverchair.com/ofaa419.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAArgwggK0BgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKlMIICoQIBADCCApoGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMDHiHKMgTPUOYmHs_AgEQgIICa2XnEHcPZjJ3ZXqoAnlePofIcr83QAQ17iGDYjD3_I8k-mU
SN - 2328-8957
ER -