New therapeutic patents used for the treatment of leprosy: a review

Abstract

Leprosy is a granulomatous disease, infectious and transmissible, which affects the skin and peripheral nerves, having Mycobacterium leprae as causative agent. The manifestation of this disease causes cutaneous lesions, peripheral neuropathies and, in more extreme cases, may generate deformities and disabilities in affected individuals. Patents were identified using the descriptor 'leprosy' and code A61K of the international patent classification, which indicates only products that meet human needs. The analysis was made using the WIPO, ESPACENET and USPTO databases, until the month of September 2016. Through this review, we found a variety of in vitro, pre-clinical and clinical studies relating to the treatment of leprosy with different types of compounds and forms of administration. New treatment proposals should include pain reduction capabilities, prevention or limitation of the appearance of cutaneous lesions, as well as prevention of the progression of the disease to more severe stages that may lead to loss of function or potentiate the individual's immune response to the M. leprae bacillus in order to prevent bacterial spread. We concluded that any patents developed with natural products were not found in the treatment of leprosy. All the deposited products were synthetic origin, mostly tested in humans and of varied forms of administration.

Práticas Integrativas E Complementares Em Pacientes Com Hanseníase

“…Diante desse fato, é extremamente necessário o desenvolvimento de novas terapêuticas para a neuropatia hansênica (EBENEZER; SCOLLARD, 2021). Santos et al (2018) cita que novas propostas de tratamento devem incluir capacidades de redução da dor, prevenção ou limitação do aparecimento de lesões cutâneas, e prevenção da progressão da doença para estágios mais graves que possam levar à perda de função ou potencializar a resposta imune do indivíduo ao M. leprae.…”