Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41716683›Full record

SynthesisMediators of inflammation2026

The Predictive Role of Biomarkers for Leprosy Prophylaxis in Contacts of Patients Who Are Indices of the Disease: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Luiza Raquel Tapajós Figueira, Marcos Jessé Abrahão Silva, Lucas Vinicius Moraes da Silva, Rebecca Lobato Marinho, Keitty Anne Silva Neves, Thiago Augusto Ferreira Dos Anjos, Lilian Cristina Santos Sinfronio da Silva, Daniele Melo Sardinha, Everaldina Cordeiro Dos Santos, Luana Nepomuceno Gondim Costa Lima

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Mediators of inflammation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Luiza Raquel Tapajós FigueiraPostgraduate Program in Parasitic Biology in the Amazon (PPGBPA), University of Pará State (UEPA), Belém, Pará, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1438-1687
Marcos Jessé Abrahão SilvaPostgraduate Program in Parasitic Biology in the Amazon (PPGBPA), University of Pará State (UEPA), Belém, Pará, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2057-3474
Lucas Vinicius Moraes da SilvaPostgraduate Program in Parasitic Biology in the Amazon (PPGBPA), University of Pará State (UEPA), Belém, Pará, Brazil.
Rebecca Lobato MarinhoPostgraduate Program in Parasitic Biology in the Amazon (PPGBPA), University of Pará State (UEPA), Belém, Pará, Brazil.
Keitty Anne Silva NevesPostgraduate Program in Parasitic Biology in the Amazon (PPGBPA), University of Pará State (UEPA), Belém, Pará, Brazil.
Thiago Augusto Ferreira Dos AnjosPostgraduate Program in Epidemiology and Health Surveillance (PPGEVS), Evandro Chagas Institute (IEC), Ananindeua, Pará, Brazil, iec.pa.gov.br.
Lilian Cristina Santos Sinfronio da SilvaPostgraduate Program in Epidemiology and Health Surveillance (PPGEVS), Evandro Chagas Institute (IEC), Ananindeua, Pará, Brazil, iec.pa.gov.br.
Daniele Melo SardinhaPostgraduate Program in Parasitic Biology in the Amazon (PPGBPA), University of Pará State (UEPA), Belém, Pará, Brazil.
Everaldina Cordeiro Dos SantosBacteriology and Mycology Section (SABMI), Evandro Chagas Institute (IEC), Ananindeua, Pará, Brazil, iec.pa.gov.br.
Luana Nepomuceno Gondim Costa LimaBacteriology and Mycology Section (SABMI), Evandro Chagas Institute (IEC), Ananindeua, Pará, Brazil, iec.pa.gov.br.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Leprosy continues to be an important public health problem, particularly in endemic regions such as Brazil, India, and Indonesia. Household contacts of multibacillary (MB) patients represent a high-risk group for subclinical infection due to prolonged exposure and high bacillary load. Host biomarkers have emerged as promising tools for identifying early infections and guiding prophylactic interventions. This systematic review aimed to identify and synthesize evidence on inflammatory and immune biomarkers associated with susceptibility to leprosy and disease progression among contacts of index cases, evaluating their potential predictive and diagnostic value. The study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines and was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (CRD420251111469). We searched CAPES, SciELO, PubMed, ScienceDirect, EMBASE, Scopus, and EBSCO databases for original studies published between 2012 and 2025, with no language restrictions. Two review authors independently selected studies using the Rayyan software, and methodological quality was assessed using the ROBIS tool. The biomarkers most frequently investigated in the studies were particularly tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-10, which play regulatory roles in the host. Elevated levels of TNF-α, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), IL-6, and IL-4 were associated with a higher risk of subclinical infection among contacts of MB patients, indicating a polyfunctional immune profile. On the other hand, paucibacillary (PB) contacts exhibited lower cytokine activation, suggesting partial protection. Additional promising markers included anti-Mce1A, PGL-I IgM, and CCL4, detected primarily by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. In summary, inflammatory and immune biomarkers-especially TNF-α, IL-10, IFN-γ, and anti-Mce1A-demonstrate potential as predictive indicators of subclinical leprosy infection. Their combined use may increase risk stratification and allow early therapeutic intervention in endemic settings. However, longitudinal validation studies are required prior to clinical application.

Indexed as

BiomarkersLeprosyHumansInterferon-gammaInterleukin-10Tumor Necrosis Factor-alphaBiomarkersInterferon-gammaInterleukin-10Tumor Necrosis Factor-alphabiomarkershousehold contactinflammatoryleprosysubclinical infection

Identifiers

PMID41716683
PMCPMC12913216

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.