Abstract
A total of 67 cases of leprosy, resistant to therapeutic agents heretofore available, were treated by various method over a period of one year and a definite shift in the condition from p to r, and an improvement in 86.5% of the skin eruptions were found and 30 of the cases became bacteria-negative. All 9 cases treated by homo- geneous, healthy skin grafts (including 2 cases of follow-up test) showed improvement in the skin eruptions and a trend for reduction in the rate of isolation of bacillus was observed. The delay in rejection of the skin grafts is believed to be due to the depressed immunological activity in leprosy. Though various problems, such as the effect of repeated skin grafts as revealed by the lepromin reaction, still must be clarified, it is considered that a shift in immunological action takes place by this method. The results suggest that not only chemotherapy but also treatment of the host should be studied in the future. In the treatment of leprosy, detailed investigation of prior therapy is required, especially in old cases and though individual differences are great arise in therapeutic effect may be anticipated by close cooperation between the patient and the doctor. This will be further accelerated by measures, such as shift in immu- nological activity, in the host. At the present stage, it is felt that the term, therapy resistant leprosy; is not entirely acceptable.
