The Promin Treatment of Leprosy. A Progress Report

Abstract

Promin has been used for over 2 yrs. at the National Leprosarium as daily intraven. injns. of 1-5 ml. The majority of patients tolerate the 5 ml. doses. Promin is more toxic when adm. orally. The intraven. adm. of promin is not entirely free from toxic reactions. The most important, hemolytic anemia, is easily controlled by frequent laboratory examinations and the adm. of liver and Fe. Promin was adm. to 68 patients with leprosy including 29 mixed cases, 32 lepromatous and 7 neural. There was definite objective improvement in 41, slight improvement or a stationary condition in 23 and no improvement or a worse condition in 4. Bacteriologic skin smears became temporarily or continuously neg. in 12. Improvements under promin are not the result of spontaneous remissions or psychic influences; a control series of cases demonstrated this. No direct evidence of a specific bacteriostatic or bactericidal action against Mycobacterium leprae has been demonstrated but promin seems to inhibit the progress of leprosy in a considerable % of cases. No case of leprosy has become arrested under its influence but further exptl. and clinical studies are in progress. Promin is an advance in the right direction in the chemotherapy of leprosy and other mycobacterial diseases. Further synthesis of sulfonamides may yield a substance with greater therapeutic action.