Four years' experience of sulphone treatment of leprosy

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Three sulfones, diasone, sulfetrone and diamino-diphenylsulfone, have been tested against lepromatous and tuberculoid leprosy infections. All 3 are effective, but the latter is much the cheaper and is more easily admd. Few side-effects are noted and cures, with failure to relapse, are numerous. Mass therapy is now possible. Lepromatous cases take about 4 yrs. and tuberculoid cases a little less than 2 yrs. before they can be regarded as cured or arrested. Streptomycin seems to shorten the period of necessary treatment materially, but is too expensive to be used in mass therapy (20,000 cases) such as is being initiated in Nigeria. The therapeutic level of the sulphone, at least 0.2 mg. %, is readily maintained in the blood by relatively small doses of any of the 3 drugs tested. This level does not seem to have deleterious effects on the fetus or on the nursing infant of treated mothers. In fact, some possible prophylactic value is indicated.