Central conduction in leprosy — A multidomain study

This paper reports the findings of a pioneering study of central conduction in 21 leprosy patients. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) and compound nerve action potentials (CHAP) are recorded after electrical stimulation of median nerves of subjects. The data fro. both the SEPs and the CHAPs were subjected to time domain, frequency domain and discriminant analyses. The amplitudes and power spectra of the SEPs and the discriminating power of the central conduction time unambiguously prove that the central nervous system (CNS) is spared in leprosy. In contrast, the significant changes in the characteristics of CNAPs indicate a high degree of peripheral nerve abnormality. Thus, that the mycobacterium leprae do not infect the CNS is electrophysiologically established for the first time.