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Curcumin and Neglected Infectious Diseases
Published in Venkatesan Jayaprakash, Daniele Castagnolo, Yusuf Özkay, Medicinal Chemistry of Neglected and Tropical Diseases, 2019
Francesca Mazzacuva, Agostino Cilibrizzi
The use of curcumin (1) in the treatment of bacterial infections is well documented in Indian and Chinese Traditional Medicine (API 2001, CPC 2010, Raghav 2015) due to the recognized antibiotic properties. For instance, fresh juice from the rhizome, or paste and decoction prepared from turmeric, has been commonly used in the treatment of leprosy. Similarly, local and systemic administration of curcumin (1) also indicates possible beneficial effects against this disease (Snow 1995), which is transmitted from Mycobacterium lepromatosis or Mycobacterium leprae and affects the peripheral nerves and skin, determining a progressive debilitation.
Leprosy in skulls from the Paris Catacombs
Published in Annals of Human Biology, 2020
Patrícia D. Deps, Simon M. Collin, Sylvie Robin, Philippe Charlier
Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium lepromatosis, obligate intracellular pathogens of high infectivity but low pathogenicity (Han et al. 2008). Archaeological, historical, and palaeopathological records show that leprosy has been a global endemic disease of humankind for at least 3000 years (Dharmendra 1947; Robbins et al. 2009), becoming pan-Asian and pan-European by the end of the first millennium AD (Skinsnes 1980; Skinsnes and Chang 1985). In Europe, leprosy was a sporadic endemic disease of low prevalence in relatively isolated rural communities of low population density up to the 10th century AD. Subsequently, as urban communities of higher population density developed, leprosy prevalence increased and sufferers were segregated in leprosy hospitals for fear of contagion. From the 13th century onwards leprosy declined in prevalence and it was almost eliminated from central Europe by the 16th century (Marcombe 2003; Rawcliffe 2006). In the modern era, leprosy has remained endemic in the tropics and wider sub-tropical regions.
Tuberculosis and leprosy associated with historical human population movements in Europe and beyond – an overview based on mycobacterial ancient DNA
Published in Annals of Human Biology, 2019
Another species has been recognised recently that can cause leprosy, Mycobacterium lepromatosis (Han et al. 2009). It appears to have a tropism for endothelial cells and can cause vasculitis and necrotic erythema. It is found in patients around the world today but is less common than ML. To date, it has not been identified in archaeological material. Both ML and M. lepromatosis have been found in the wild Eurasian red squirrel. The ML strain found in British red squirrels is similar to a strain found in human remains from a leprosy hospital found in mediaeval Winchester in south central England (Donoghue et al. 2018; Schuenemann et al. 2018). This intriguing observation suggests the possibility that red squirrels may have acquired leprosy from infected humans, possibly via healthy carriers, insect vectors or environmental reservoirs. For example, it is known that there was a considerable trade in squirrel fur in the Middle Ages between England and the Low Countries. In addition, squirrels were sometimes kept as pets (Avanzi et al. 2016), so this may have provided a route of infection.