Abstract

Background: Leprosy is among the world’s oldest and most dreaded diseases and it has been synonymous with stigma and discrimination due to the hideous deformities it produced. Bone involvement in leprosy is one of the causes of deformity and disability. There are conflicting results on association of bone resorption (BP) in various forms of leprosy. Hence the aim of the study was to evaluate bone resorption markers in leprosy patients and to compare with healthy controls and to find out whether these findings were related to various forms of leprosy, its duration and bacterial load. Methods: Seventy newly diagnosed, untreated leprosy patients were selected as cases and compared with sixty age and sex matched healthy controls. Bone resorption was studied by measuring fasting urinary calcium / creatinine level. Bone resorption may be associated with new bone formation. So, Serum Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was estimated as a marker of bone formation. Results: There was a significant increase in the serum ALP activity in cases when compared to controls and it was associated with increased duration, bacterial load and multibacillary type of leprosy. There was a significant increase in the level of Urinary calcium/creatinine in cases when compared to controls and it was not associated with disease parameters. Conclusion: Our data supports that there is an increased bone resorption in leprosy. Therapy aimed at reducing bone loss may benefit leprosy patients with high bone turnover

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