Endocrine dysfunction in leprosy

Leprosy is still an endemic disease, especially in Third World countries, and, because of migration, it still persists in Europe and the United States. The disease affects the peripheral nerves, skin, and multiple internal organs, making its clinical recognition difficult. In particular, the endocrine manifestations caused by leprosy have been underestimated, even by specialists. The endocrine changes present in leprosy include hypogonadism, sterility, and osteoporosis. In addition, the spectral immune nature of leprosy offers an attractive model to investigate the pathogenetic correlation between the patterns of inflammation in the poles of its spectrum and the hormonal disarrangements observed in this disease. It is important that those involved in leprosy management be aware of the potential endocrine changes and their treatment to address the disease in all of its aspects. In this article, we review the findings on endocrine dysfunction in leprosy, including a survey of the literature and of our own work.