Resumo

CASTRO, Nora Cardona; COLL, Héctor Serrano  e  SAENZ, Liliana Acevedo. Micronutrients: a key link in the immunopathogenesis of leprosy. Salud(i)Ciencia [online]. 2019, vol.23, n.5, pp.1-10. ISSN 1667-8682.  http://dx.doi.org/www.dx.doi.org/10.21840/siic/159797.

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which has a marked affinity for the skin and peripheral nerve trunks. This disease is characterized by a polymorphic clinical presentation that depends on the immune response in the host.  The immunopathogenesis of this disease still represents a challenge for researchers and a missing link in their understanding of it is the study of micronutrients that have been proved to have the ability to modulate the innate and adaptive immune response. The aim of this review is to describe and to relate certain nutrients, such as vitamins A, D, E, C, and B6, folate, zinc and iron, with the immune response in leprosy. In addition, we suggest that some micronutrients (vitamins A, D and C, and zinc) appear to be important in mitigating the occurrence of leprosy reactions by modulating the immune response in the host infected by M. leprae, and that micronutrients such as vitamins A, D, B6, and D, folate, zinc and iron are important in reducing the incidence of leprosy given that they would promote a better immune response in household contacts. Therefore, the study of the nutritional status and the supplementation with micronutrients in household contacts and patients with leprosy seem to be important in eliminating this disease, which has deformed bodies and destroyed dreams for centuries.

Palavras-chave : leprosy; immunity; vitamins; lymphocytes; oxidative; stress; inflammation; disability.

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