PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Walia

Publications and source records attributed to R Walia.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Addition of immunotherapy with Mycobacterium w vaccine to multi-drug therapy benefits multibacillary leprosy patients.

Immunotherapy with a vaccine consisting of autoclaved Mycobacterium w, was given in addition to standard chemotherapy (multidrug therapy (MDT)) to 93 multibacillary (MB) leprosy patients. One hundred and seven patients with similar types of disease served as controls and received MDT + placebo injections. The study was a double-blind randomised trial. On opening the codes, results obtained were in concordance with those in a single-blind trial which has been extensively reported. Bacteriological clearances were significantly more rapid in vaccinated patients (p < 0.03). Thirty-five LL or BL patients with a high bacterial index (BI) of 6 were completely cleared of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) after eight doses of vaccine. Only 8 patients in the control group became bacteriologically negative in the same time period. They all had BIs < 4. Associated with decreasing BI was accelerated clinical regression of lesions after vaccination and lepromin conversion rates of 100% for BB, 71% for BL and 70% for LL. A significant number of immunised patients showed histological improvement (p < 0.004). Thirty-six showed a complete disappearance of dermal granulomas and a picture of non-specific infiltration. The vaccine did not precipitate neuritis or deformities; episodes were noted in vaccinated patients as were incidences of Type 2 reaction. The overall improvement was reflected by a shorter duration of treatment and faster release of vaccinated patients.

Bacterial Vaccines↗
PubMed1992

Association of HLA antigens with differential responsiveness to Mycobacterium w vaccine in multibacillary leprosy patients.

Leprosy patients undergoing phase II trials in two hospitals of New Delhi, India, were HLA typed to see the association of HLA with differential responsiveness to Mycobacterium w vaccine. The vaccine comprises an atypical, nonpathogenic mycobacterium, Mycobacterium w, which has cross-reactive antigens with M. leprae. Multibacillary patients who are lepromin negative are vaccinated at an interval of 3 months. Considerable improvement is evident in the patients in terms of a decline in bacterial indices and histopathological and immunological upgrading. But all the patients do not respond to the vaccine in the same manner; some are slow responders, while others are good responders. HLA-A28 and DQw3 (DQw8 + 9) were found to be associated with slow responsiveness, while DQw1 and DQw7 were found to be associated with a more rapid responsiveness to the M. w vaccine. However, these associations were not significant after P correction for the number of antigens tested for each locus except for HLA-DQw3 (DQw8 and DQw9) and DQw7. DQw7, a new defined split of HLA-DQw3, seems to be associated with the responsiveness to M. w vaccine.

Cross Reactions↗
PubMed1990

Immunotherapeutic effects of a vaccine based on a saprophytic cultivable mycobacterium, Mycobacterium w in multibacillary leprosy patients.

Immunotherapy with a vaccine consisting of autoclaved Mycobacterium w was given in addition to chemotherapy in 54 multibacillary, lepromin negative patients belonging to BB, BL and LL types of leprosy. Thirty-seven patients with similar types of diseases received chemotherapy and placebo injections. The 'vaccine' was repeated every 3 months. Bacterial clearance was more rapid in the vaccinated patients. Two lepromatous leprosy patients with initial bacterial index (BI) of 1.8 and 2.8 became bacteriologically negative in 1 year. One LL patient with BI of 6.0 had a BI fall to 0.16 after four doses of the vaccine. None of the LL patients belonging to placebo group during the same time period became bacteriologically negative. Rapid bacterial clearance was accompanied by distinct signs of clinical improvement. One hundred percent of BB, 85.7% of BL patients and 61.5% of LL patients converted to lepromin positivity after four doses of the vaccine. A significant number of vaccinated patients demonstrated an upgrading in skin lesions histopathologically.

Bacterial Vaccines↗