The 3-hour biodistribution of 99mTc complexes of five diphosphonates (HMDP, NMMDP, DMAD, DPD, and APD), imidodiphosphonate (IDP), and pyrophosphate (PYP) was compared in rats with segmental renal infarction induced by a 1-hour occlusion of a renal artery branch. 95mTc labeled MDP was a reference substance in all animals. Three agents (APD, HMDP and IDP) had a higher infarct/normal kidney concentration ratio than MDP, the latter two by virtue of a lower content in normal kidney. HMDP, DPD, and IDP had very high liver concentrations. DPD showed relatively high concentrations in soft tissues and blood. The blood and kidney levels of PYP were higher than those of MDP but the infarct/normal kidney ratios were similar. None of the agents had a higher uptake in bone than MDP: four had a significantly lower uptake. The increased concentration of 99mTc MDP in the infarcts was readily seen in camera images one day after renal artery occlusion, but not at three or seven days. Increased diphosphonate uptake was accompanied by an influx of calcium in both cortex and medulla. The accumulation of diphosphonate in areas of infarction was not modified by infusions of verapamil or Captopril.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Deformity incidence in leprosy patients treated with multidrug therapy.

The records of 2,285 (2,007 paucibacillary (PB) and 278 multibacillary (MB)) cases of leprosy which were declared as released from treatment (RFT) after multidrug therapy (MDT) and under surveillance as per the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) guidelines in the rural field practice area of Central Leprosy Teaching & Research Institute (CLTRI), Chengalpattu, between September 1986 and September 1993 were analyzed for collecting data on the incidence of deformity. Of the 2,285 cases 2,053 (1,947 PB and 106 MB) did not have deformity at the commencement of treatment. Three MB cases and one PB case out of the 2,053 developed deformity (all grade II) during the course of treatment. No patient developed deformity during surveillance. Thus the deformity incidence in the population of patients was 0.681 per 1000 person-years of observation. Age, sex, type of disease, prior dapsone monotherapy and nerve involvement at the commencement of treatment appear to influence the deformity incidence. The risk of development of deformity in patients treated with MDT appear to be very low and analysis of larger data sets is suggested to corroborate the above findings as the information would be useful for planning prevention and management of deformity services.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prospects for elimination of leprosy in India by 2000 AD.

Data regarding the trends of new-case detection rates of leprosy for India as a whole, for the State of Andhra Pradesh, and for Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh were generated and projected up to 2000 AD. The prevalence rate by 2000 AD was worked out based on these new -case detection rates. The projections show that at the current slowly declining trend of new-case detection, with 20% MB cases among the newly detected cases and the current mean duration of treatment, the elimination goal of leprosy by 2000 AD, could possibly be achieved at Srikakulam district level only, where the MDT project has been under implementation for over ten years, but not at the State or country levels. The achievement of elimination goal should be possible in other geographic units also if the duration of disease could be shortened to one month or less, for both paucibacillary and multibacillary types of leprosy.

Humans↗