Sung K J, Kim S B, Choi J H, Koh K, Na D S
Department of Dermatology, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Int J Dermatol. 1993 Oct;32(10):710-3. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-4362.1993.tb02738.x.
Diagnosis of paucibacillary leprosy is often difficult. A method that could confirm the diagnosis is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of M. leprae DNA. This reaction was applied to biopsied tissues of leprotic patients to determine the suitability and sensitivity of the reaction.
Biopsy samples were taken from previously untreated patients with multibacillary (5 patients) and paucibacillary (3 patients) leprosy, fixed in formalin, and embedded in paraffin. DNA was extracted from paraffin blocks and PCR applied. The sensitivity of the PCR method was tested by using the serially diluted DNA sample as the template.
All eight patients showed a positive PCR for M. leprae DNA. The sensitivity was such that a single organism of M. leprae, as counted by staining of the acid-fast bacilli was identified by the PCR.
The PCR method is simple, sensitive, specific, and does not require the use of radioisotopes. It can be applied to the unequivocal diagnosis of paucibacillary leprosy which is difficult by other means. The diagnosis can be obtained within 10 hours.
少菌型麻风的诊断往往困难。一种能够确诊的方法是麻风分枝杆菌DNA的聚合酶链反应（PCR）。该反应应用于麻风患者的活检组织，以确定该反应的适用性和敏感性。
从先前未经治疗的多菌型（5例）和少菌型（3例）麻风患者中获取活检样本，用福尔马林固定，石蜡包埋。从石蜡块中提取DNA并进行PCR。通过使用系列稀释的DNA样本作为模板来测试PCR方法的敏感性。
所有8例患者的麻风分枝杆菌DNA PCR检测均呈阳性。其敏感性使得通过抗酸杆菌染色计数的单个麻风分枝杆菌可被PCR识别。
PCR方法简单、灵敏、特异，且无需使用放射性同位素。它可用于其他方法难以明确诊断的少菌型麻风。10小时内即可获得诊断结果。
