The "Lucio Phenomenon" in Diffuse Leprosy
Authors: ROBERT S. DONNER
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1967)

Case Studies1 October 1967The "Lucio Phenomenon" in Diffuse LeprosyROBERT S. DONNER, M.D., JOHN A. SHIVELY, M.D., F.A.C.P.ROBERT S. DONNER, M.D., JOHN A. SHIVELY, M.D., F.A.C.P.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-67-4-831 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptThe "Lucio phenomenon" is a rare but distinctive skin eruption that is found in patients with diffuse leprosy (1, 2) but that because of its rarity may not be recognized. Diffuse leprosy, a form of lepromatous leprosy occurring in patients with little or no resistance to the infection, rarely occurs outside Mexico and Costa Rica on the North American continent (3). Only two previous cases have been reported from the continental United States (4, 5). In this condition, the skin is diffusely infiltrated by histiocytes and leprosy bacilli (Mycobacterium leprae) instead of developing the typical nodular skin lesions of lepromatous...References1. LATAPICHEVEZ ZAMORO FA: The "spotted" leprosy of Lucio. An introduction to its clinical and histological study. Int. J. Leprosy 16: 421, 1948. Google Scholar2. LUCIOALVARADO RI: Opusculo Sobre el Mal de San Lazaro o Elefanciasis de los Griegos. 53 pp. M. Murguia y Cia, Mexico, 1852, cited by LATAPI and CHEVEZ ZAMORO Google Scholar3. ROMEROBRENES IBARRAFALLAS AAM: Clinical study of lepromatous leprosy in Costa Rica. Int. J. Leprosy 17: 27, 1949. MedlineGoogle Scholar4. DERBESSAMUELSWILLIAMSWALSH VJMOPJJ: Diffuse leprosy: case in a Louisiana Negro. Arch. Derm. (Chicago) 81: 210, 1960. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. OBERMAYERBONARROSENQUIST MESCR: Diffuse lepra. J. Invest. Derm. 12: 243, 1949. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. SCHWARTZLEWISDAMESHEK RSFBW: Hemorrhagic cutaneous anaphylaxis due to autosensitization to deoxyribonucleic acid. New Eng. J. Med. 267: 1105, 1962. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. ARNOLD HL: Leprosy (Hansen's disease), in Cecil and Loeb Textbook of Medicine, vol. 1, 11th ed., edited by BEESON, P. B., MCDERMOTT, W. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia and London, 1963, p. 320. Google Scholar8. ARNOLDSLOAN HLNR: Lucio's spotted leprosy (diffuse lepromatous leprosy of Mexico). Report of a case in Hawaii. Int. J. Leprosy 19: 23, 1951. MedlineGoogle Scholar9. FURTADO TA: The Lucio-Alvarado form of leprosy. A case observed in Brazil. Int. J. Leprosy 27: 110, 1959. MedlineGoogle Scholar10. BRAINDACIEHOURIHANE MCJVDO: Microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia: the possible role of vascular lesions in pathogenesis. Brit. J. Haemat. 8: 358, 1962. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar11. KOLOUCHGOODCAMPBELL FRAB: The reticuloendothelial origin of the bone marrow plasma cells in hypersensitivity states. J. Lab. Clin. Med. 32: 749, 1947. MedlineGoogle Scholar12. REBUCKLO GRIPPO JWGA: Characteristics and interrelationships of the various cells in the RE cell, macrophage, lymphocyte, and plasma cell series in man. Lab. Invest. 10: 1068, 1961. MedlineGoogle Scholar13. SPIERS RS: Cells involved in hypersensitivity and immunity (correspondence). Blood 22: 363, 1963. MedlineGoogle Scholar14. BONOMOTURSITRIMIGLIOZZIDAMMACCO LAGF: L. E. cells and antinuclear factors in leprosy. Brit. Med. J. 2: 689, 1965. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Houston, TexasFrom the Department of Pathology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, Houston, Tex.This study was supported in part by grant NCI-5 T1-CA 5114, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.Requests for reprints should be addressed to John A. Shively, M. D., The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, 6723 Bertner Ave.. Houston, Tex. 77025. 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