title: Spontaneous regional healing of extensive skin lesions in diffuse cutaneous Leishmaniasis (DCL).
abstract: The authors report a case of diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis, with longstanding evolution and presenting with diffuse infiltrated lesions rich in amastigotes in the absence of mucosal involvement. In situ characterization with monoclonal antibodies revealed Leishmania amazonensis. Large regional lesions have presented spontaneous healing without specific therapy. Considering that DCL presents with a defect in the cellular immune response, this fact demonstrate that this patient may develop a regional cellular immune response enough to destroy the parasites and to produce clearing of some lesions.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luís, Brasil.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Saldanha
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: M dos R
authors.initials: Mdos R
authors.lastname: Branco
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barral
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bittencourt
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D016774:Leishmaniasis, Diffuse Cutaneous; D008297:Male; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous