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Biomedical subjects

G Ramu

Publications and source records attributed to G Ramu.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Introductory rifampicin therapy in lepromatous leprosy: a six month follow-up study.

A double-blind comparative trial of 300 mg of Rifampicin given daily as against 50 mg D.D.S. administered likewise for an initial period of 3 months has been undertaken on 24 untreated cases of lepromatous leprosy. All the patients have been followed up for 6 months. The results revealed that patients in the former group became non-infective, as concluded from M.I. and mouse foot-pad results, within 3-4 weeks and their nasal ulcers healed faster. Clinical improvement was slightly better in the former group while no bacteriological differences were noticed in the two groups. E.N.L. was milder and slightly less common in the Rifampicin group.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Evaluation of bacteraemia in leprosy patients.

Thirty five patients of leprosy have been screened for bacteraemia by haemolysis (HL), leucocyte adherence (LA) and buffy coat (BC) methods and the results have been compared. The HL method has yielded not only higher number of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) but also has detected more frequently AFB in blood of leprosy patients as compared to other methods. Further, it has been established that the skin over the cubital fossa does not play any significant role in contaminating blood samples while sampling blood by venepuncture.

Bacteriological Techniques↗

Serum iron and total iron binding capacity in leprosy patients.

Serum Iron and Total Iron Binding capacity were estimated on the sera collected from 45 leprosy patients attending the out-patient department of the Central JALMA Institute for Leprosy, Agra. The Sera from 15 healthy subjects were included in the study as controls. Hypoferraemia was observed in lepromatous leprosy and was particularly marked during the reactive phase. Further investigations to elucidate the pathogenesis of anaemia in leprosy are being planned.

Anemia, Hypochromic↗

Blood DDS levels and acetylation rates of sulphadimidine in leprosy patients.

The plasma DDS clearance rates and the acetylation rates of Sulphadimidine were studied in a group of 30 leprosy patients comprising of 17 non-responders and 13 responders to DDS treatment. No differences in the acetylator type or in the plasma DDS clearance were seen between the responders and non-responders. Acetylation rate did not bear any relation to the plasma clearance of DDS in the non-responders. The findings indicate that the resistance to DDS therapy in these patients is not related to any abnormal metabolic disposition of DDS.

Acetylation↗

A comparison of low and conventional dosages of dapsone in the treatment of lepromatous leprosy.

A therapeutic trial using two dosages of Dapsone with a schedule of administration of the drug once a week was undertaken at the Central Leprosy Teaching and Research Institute, Chingleput. Adult males with active lepromatous leprosy who were either previously untreated, or who had no specific treatment for at least three months immediately prior to their inclusion into this study, were the subjects of this trial. Two dosages, viz., 10 mg. per kg. body weight/week, and 3.3 mg. per kg. body weight/week, were employed in this trial. It was found that Dapsone administered orally as a single dose once a week was therapeutically effective in most of the patients, and improvement, clinical or bacteriological, was directly related to the duration of treatment, irrespective of the dosage of Dapsone. Blood levels of Dapsone in these patients were in general commensurate with the dose of the drug in either group. No adverse effects on any of the visceral functions were encountered during the prolonged use of this schedule of treatment with Dapsone.

Dapsone↗

Transformation from lepromatous to borderline leprosy under clofazimine therapy.

Patients of lepromatous leprosy who have evolved from the borderline type of disease are known to revert to the borderline state through a reactionary phenomenon under anti-leprosy chemotherapy with Dapsone. We present here the case report of a reversal from a reactional lepromatous disease to the borderline type under Clofazimine.

Adult↗

Side effects of clofazimine therapy.

84 patients of leprosy including 15 female patients were treated with Clofzimine on a predetermined dosage regimen. 76 of these were cases of recurrent lepra reaction; 4 cases of proven DDS resistance, 3 of these being complicated by lepra reaction; and 4 were cases of reactional state in Borderline leprosy near the lepromatous end of the spectrum. The common side effect in all cases consisted of red and dark skin pigmentation of varying intensity occuring within 10 weeks of the commencement of therapy. The intensity of the colour was proportionate to the density of the infiltration. Ichthyosis occurred in 66.6% of cases. While the pigmentation was accepted by the patients in general, 10% of the patients considered ichthyosis as stigmatising. While side effects like anorexia, diarrhoea, enlargement of lymph glands and liver, corneal xerosis and loss of weight were self correcting, severe gastrointestinal manifestation, i.e. severe abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea were observed in 9 patients, 5 of whom were females. Mortality was high in the females. On an incidental finding the Isonizair reduced the severity of the manifestations, it was supplemented in 10 cases on Clofazimine therapy and was found to minimise the side effects and the pigmentation due to Clofazimine. Hydration therapy for the ichthyosis and instillation of normal saline and liquid paraffin for corneal xerosis were found to be very useful.

Adolescent↗

Quantitative estimation of clofazimine in tissue.

The histological examination and the chemical estimation of clofazimine in the organs removed at autopsy of a patient receiving the drug indicated the accumulation of the drug in the organs of the reticulo-endothelial system and those having a large number of macrophages. The clofazimine levels in the skin from patients receiving the drug and those in whom the drug had been stopped for different periods of time were compared. The skin levels of clofazimine bore a direct relationship to the size of the granuloma. A slow elimination of the drug from the tissues was indicated by the presence of traces of the skin tissue even 1-2 years after stopping the drug. The clinical implication of these findings are discussed.

Adolescent↗