Introduction:Leprosy is an infectious disease whose etiologic agent is Mycobacterium leprae, manifested by dermatological and neurological signs and symptoms. Objective: To investigate neural changes and the degree of physical disability in the eyes, hands and feet before and after treatment, as well as sociodemographic and clinical profile of patients affected by leprosy. Method: A longitudinal epidemiological study comprising 155 patients with leprosy, from a spontaneous demand, diagnosed between March 2010 and February 2011, and treated with multidrug therapy (MDT) between March 2010 and July 2012 in a program for leprosy eradication in São Luis (MA), Brazil. Results: Before treatment, 46.5% of patients were considered as borderline, 51.6% had some alteration in the eyes and 52.3% in the feet, and the radial nerve (18.7%) was the most affected. There was a statistically significant difference between the changes in the radial nerve at the beginning of and after treatment. Conclusions: The analysis points to late diagnosis, as some patients have had abnormal neural and physical disabilities before treatment.

Introduction: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that is caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk factors that are associated with neural alterations and physical disabilities in leprosy patients at the time of diagnosis. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 155 leprosy patients who participated in a program that aimed to eliminate leprosy from São Luis, State of Maranhão. Results: Patients who were 31-45 years of age, were older than 60 years of age or had a partner were more likely to have a disability. Patients with partners were 1.14 times more likely (p = 0.025) to have disabilities of the hands. The frequency of disabilities in the feet among the patients with different clinical forms of leprosy was statistically signifi cant. Conclusions: The identifi cation of risk factors that are associated with neural alterations and physical disabilities in leprosy patients is important for diagnosing the disease because this approach enables physicians to plan and prioritize actions for the treatment and monitoring of patients.

Introduction Among the treatment modalities in this disease , the surgical and conservative means stand out through therapy resources such as electro-thermotherapy and kinetic therapy. The general objective of this study was to evaluate the effects from two protocols of physical therapy in elder women with knee osteoarthritis. Methods An experimental clinical trial type study consisting of pre and post tests was performed, in which 30 female patients were selected, all between 61 and 80 years old, diagnosed with primary knee OA, treated at the Center for Comprehensive Health Care for the Elder (CAISI - Centro de Atenção Integral à Saúde do Idoso). They were divided into 2 groups of 15 persons for each type of treatment: Group I was treated with kinetic therapy, and group II was treated with electro-thermotherapy. Patients from both groups underwent 36 physical therapy sessions during 12 weeks. For data collection, protocol sheets with socio-demographic data, Body Mass Index (BMI) at kg/m2, visual analogue scale (VAS) and measurement of motion range (ADM) were used. For statistics analysis, the Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon and Chi-square's non-parametric tests were used. Student's parametric tests were also applied as independent samples. Results The tests performed in both groups contributed to the reduction in the level of pain. There were differences in group I and II on the increase of ADM, except in bending the left knee in group II. Conclusion It was concluded that both treatment modalities showed effective therapeutic responses, but these benefits were even higher in OA treatment by kinetic therapy.