Neuropathic Pain and Psychological Morbidity in Patients with Treated Leprosy: A Cross-Sectional Prevalence Study in Mumbai

Peer reviewe

Socioeconomics of a Global Leprosy Eradication Programme

In the absence of evidence in the literature on cost factors in the management of leprosy, a reference is made to the sporadic attempts to study costs of case detection and treatment. Such studies indicate that in the currently declining phase of leprosy endemicity, employing a conventionally trained, salaried class of paramedical staff for field surveys is prohibitively expensive if cost per case detected is computed. Involving primary healthcare and community derived workers is cost effective. Likewise, short course chemotherapy with newer drugs under trial, administered under supervision by community volunteers, reduces the expenses considerably. Community-based disability services using inexpensive tools may cut costs by 90%. Operational research on cost effectiveness of rehabilitation comparing `integrated' with `vertical' approaches is, unfortunately, still in a primitive stage. It is urged that in view of the changing logistics, manpower costs and financial implications should be given serious consideration by health planners. Post-elimination problems such as: 1. unearthing hidden cases; 2. community-based supervised treatment with highly promising newer drugs; 3. identification of reactions and relapses; and 4. field management of disabilities resulting from acute and silent neuritis etc could be solved in a much cheaper manner. Integration of leprosy into general healthcare services and community-based rehabilitation of leprosy patients along with those disabled by other diseases will be the major task in future as these procedures are expected to reduce management costs and eliminate stigma.Reviews-on-treatment, Pharmacoeconomics, Leprosy, Cost-analysis, Dapsone, Antimicrobial-resistance, Rifampicin, Clofazimine, Antileprotics, Antibacterials

Hetero- and metallasiloxanes derived from silanediols, disilanols, silanetriols, and trisilanols

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The first molecular borophosphonate cage: synthesis, spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray structure

The synthesis of the first molecular borophosphonate, [t-BuPO3BEt]4 (1), has been achieved from the reaction of tert-butylphosphonic acid and triethylboron in refluxing toluene/1,4-dioxane. The inorganic B4O12P4 cubic framework in 1 is enveloped by butyl and ethyl groups, making the compound highly soluble in common organic solvents. The reactive B-C bonds present in the four corners of 1 might offer the possibility of the use of this compound as a starting material for building supramoleclar borophosphonate/phosphate structures

Interesting and unusual clinical presentations in leprosy at a referral center

Background: Leprosy is a disease of declining global endemicity but is still an important health-care problem in India. Pure neural leprosy is an important subset of presentations of leprosy in India. Leprosy is a known disease of the skin and nerves, but cases of pure neural involvement are relatively less. We hereby present 10 cases of pure neural leprosy in which the diagnosis of leprosy was difficult with routine methods. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at the main referral center and satellite clinics of our organization. A retrospective analysis of patient records for the last four years was undertaken to identify patients presenting with predominantly neurological manifestations and uncommon presentations including those without skin lesions. The medical records of the patients were used as source of data. All the patients were subjected to a detailed clinical examination and bacteriological examination with slit-skin smears. Investigations like nerve biopsy, electromyography, and nerve conduction studies were done in patients with diagnostic difficulties. Results: Patients presented with neurological symptoms like paresthesias (60%), diminished sensations (40%), nonhealing ulcers (30%), and blisters (20%). All except one had thickened nerves on clinical examination. Slit-skin smear was negative in all but one patient. Nerve biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of leprosy in seven cases. Conclusion: Pure neural leprosy is difficult to diagnose with routine methods. The diagnosis should be considered, especially by neurologists and dermatologists, who are more likely to see such patients with predominant neural manifestations. The diagnosis should be confirmed with nerve biopsy to prevent delay in therapy and associated complications

Metal Complexes of Organophosphate Esters and Open-Framework Metal Phosphates: Synthesis, Structure, Transformations, and Applications

The chemistry of organophosphate ester complexes has been reviewed. Also included are the complexes that have been sufficiently well characterized through a single x-ray diffraction study, structural characterization of phosphate ester metal complex, and phosphate-based materials. Metal-containing aluminophosphate molecular sieves offer tremendous potential as heterogeneous catalysts for liquid-phase oxidation reactions in the production of fine chemicals. The recent success in the preparation of AlPO-based catalyst for the oxidation of n-alkanes at the terminal C atoms with high selectivity using molecular oxygen in liquid-phase reaction has been considered a breakthrough. Also notable is the observation of interesting magnetic properties. This transition metal containing open-framework solids show different types of magnetic ordering thus, classified as anti-ferromagnetic materials. These metal ions also exhibit interesting magnetic exchange between the metal phosphate layers via the organic linkers