The condition of the peripheral nerve in leprosy under various forms of treatment. Conduction velocity studies in long-term follow-up.

Peripheral nervc les ions arc common in leprosy. They may be of two basic types: infi ltrative, with inflammation and fibrosis along the nerve, or constrictive, in a patchy form, with signs of compression or strangulation . The nerve lesions may have an insidious, gradual onset with mild clinical signs or they may occur suddenly, especially during leprosy reactions. In many instances therapy may arrest the progress of the nerve damage. The question arises, however, as to whether, in the absence of leprosy reaction ( LB.) , the fibros is of the nerve does not sometimes cause an insidiously progressive lesion , without immediately apparent clinical symptoms or signs. An additional problem to be considered is the type of therapy which most e ffcctively influcnces thc ncrve lesion . The sulfones ( derivatcs of 4,4'-diaminodiphenyl sulfon e) were first introduced in 1937 by Buttle et al. ( 7) and Fourneau et ai. ( I") against streptococcal in fections, and later by B.ist et al. (R7) and Feldman et oZ. ( l~) against animal tuberculosis. In 1941, after further assessment (10) they were tried in human leprosy (1:!). The good results obtained warranted their wide acceptance as the most common ly used