Leprosy — Uniform Multidrug Therapy Regimen for Leprosy Patients
Citation(s)
Becx-Bleumink M Relapses among leprosy patients treated with multidrug therapy: experience in the leprosy control program of the All Africa Leprosy and Rehabilitation Training Center (ALERT) in Ethiopia; practical difficulties with diagnosing relapses; operational procedures and criteria for diagnosing relapses. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1992 Sep;60(3):421-35. Review.
Dasananjali K, Schreuder PA, Pirayavaraporn C A study on the effectiveness and safety of the WHO/MDT regimen in the northeast of Thailand; a prospective study, 1984-1996. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1997 Mar;65(1):28-36.
Jamet P, Ji B Relapse after long-term follow up of multibacillary patients treated by WHO multidrug regimen. Marchoux Chemotherapy Study Group. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1995 Jun;63(2):195-201.
Li HY, Hu LF, Wu PW, Luo JS, Liu XM Fixed-duration multidrug therapy in multibacillary leprosy. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1997 Jun;65(2):230-7.
Lockwood DN, Suneetha S Leprosy: too complex a disease for a simple elimination paradigm. Bull World Health Organ. 2005 Mar;83(3):230-5. Epub 2005 Mar 16. Review.
Independent Study to Establish the Efficacy of the Six Doses Uniform MDT Regimen (U-MDT) for Leprosy Patients
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.
