Hansen's disease manifesting as acute distal symmetric microvasculitic polyneuropathy

摘要

Leprosy or Hansen's disease is the commonest infectious peripheral neuropathy caused by Mycobacterium leprae that mainly afflicts skin and peripheral nerves. The disease is widely prevalent in certain geographical areas like Asia, Africa and Latin part of America. Severity and clinical spectrum is principally dependent on the immune status of the host. Nerve involvement in leprosy usually follows the pattern of mononeuropathy or mononeuritis multiplex. Bilateral, symmetrical, distal polyneuropathy can also be a manifestation of lepromatous leprosy, albeit, neuropathy is slowly progressive in these cases [1]. Also, rare case reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) like presentation in a diagnosed or treated case of lepromatous leprosy have been published previously [2-4].