Uveitis in Leprosy Patients

We examined 24 dermatologically cured leprosy patients with ongoing uveitis(UV + ) and 22 age and type matched controls(UV - ) to study the late phase leprous UV. All patients have been skin smear negative for more than 10 years. The history of chemotherapy, 5 years before and after a accomp-lishing bacterial negativity, was evaluated and represented by "SCORE". It was found that anti-PGL-I and anti-LAM-B antibodies were significantly higher in UV + group compared to the controls. The mean SCORE of chemotherapy in UV + group was signifi-cantly lower than in the controls. Iris pearls were seen in 10 cases or 42% out of 24 UV+ patients. No iris pearls were seen in control group. These results suggest that in-sufficient chemotherapy and consequent incomplete elimination of bacilli are the risk factors for leprous UV in the quiescent stage of the disease