Leprous synovitis. A study of fifty cases.

A study of 50 synovial biopsies of proved lepromatous patients with arthritis was carried out. Out of these 50 cases, 14 cases were suffering from lepra reaction and the histopathological study of the synovium in these 14 cases revealed the presence of only vasculitis and lymphocytic infiltration. In the remaining 36 cases, not associated with lepra reaction, the synovial lining showed hyperplasia and villous hypertrophy, and the synovial tissue showed congestion, pannus formation, the presence of macrophage granulomas and, in some cases, even intact acid-fast bacilli. Since there was no other cause for arthritis, it is perhaps likely that the primary synovial involvement in these 36 cases may be the cause of the arthritis. In the ten cases of lepromatous leprosy without arthritis studied as controls, no histopathological abnormality in the synovium could be detected.