Jahnavi Sarma
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Written By: Jahnavi Sarma | Published : January 30, 2020 4:06 PM IST
Once the disease progresses, it can cause permanent nerve damage. This will led to muscle weakness, claw-like hands, inflexibility of legs and loss of sensation that can lead to serious injuries. @Shutterstock
Say the word leprosy and the image that comes to mind is of a reticent person who hides from the world. This is often because of the serious stigma that comes with the disease. Though it is not highly contagious. And it is a fact that almost 95 per cent of he world's population are naturally immune to it. However, understanding about this diseases is still not much. It is still misunderstood. It is for this reason alone that patients of this condition are shunned. Despite the disease having been known about for thousands of years, very little is understood about its biology.
On the occasion of World Leprosy Day today, we look at the complications that this disease may bring along with it.
A leprosy diagnosis must never be ignored as it can lead to unnecessary complications. Untreated leprosy can cause permanently damage to your skin, arms, legs, feet, nerves and eyes. It can cause glauca and eventual blindness. Unsightly disfigurement like swelling, bumps and lumps can become permanent. Renal failure is a very serious complication of this condition as it can be fatal.
Once the disease progresses, it can cause permanent nerve damage. This will led to muscle weakness, claw-like hands, inflexibility of legs and loss of sensation that can lead to serious injuries. Leprosy can also lead to erectile dysfunction and infertility in men.
According to researchers at the University of Cambridge, leprosy hijacks our immune system, turning an important repair mechanism into one that causes potentially irreparable damage to our nerve cells. This is due to the fact that the bacteria infiltrates the very cells that protects us from diseases and infections. It strips away the protective insulation, the myelin sheath, that protects nerve fibres, say the researchers.
A study at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, shows that peripheral nerve damage caused by leprosy can indeed change the brain. Researchers say that the brain representation for a given muscle may change depending on the degree of damage in the nerve connecting the muscle to the brain, which is evidence for brain plasticity.
