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Thalidomide in the treatment of leprosy
Steve K Teo1, Ken E Resztak, Michael A Scheffler
1Celgene Corporation, 7 Powder Horn Drive, Warren, NJ 07059, USA. steo@celgene.com
Microbes and Infection
|October 4, 2002
Abstract:
Leprosy is a chronic infection of the skin and nerves caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) is a reactive state in lepromatous leprosy. Thalidomide has been used to treat ENL since the 1960s. One of its mechanisms of action is anti-inflammatory through selective inhibition of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha produced by monocytes.