Human T-lymphotropic virus type I antibodies in the serum of patients with tropical spastic paraparesis in the Seychelles
G. C. Roman, B. S. Schoenberg, D. L. Madden, J. L. Sever, J. Hugon, A. Ludolph and P. S. Spencer
Tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP), a chronic myelopathy of unknown
etiology, was studied in the Seychelles. Human T-lymphotropic virus type I
(HTLV-I) and human immunodeficiency virus antibodies were determined using
an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmed with an indirect
fluorescent antibody test in serum samples of 20 patients with TSP and 16
controls. Test results indicated that 17 patients (85%) and two controls
(transverse myelopathy and clinically probable multiple sclerosis) were
positive for HTLV-I. Serum samples of nine healthy controls and five with
other neurologic diseases were negative for HTLV-I. No serum samples were
positive for human immunodeficiency virus. Estimated relative risk for TSP
in those subjects whose serum is positive for HTLV-I antibodies is 40. This
result is highly statistically significant. Although primarily associated
with adult T-cell leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, HTLV-I could also be
an etiologic agent of TSP.
