The role of HTLV in HIV-1 neurologic disease

Neurology. 1991 Feb;41(2 ( Pt 1)):197-202. doi: 10.1212/wnl.41.2_part_1.197.

Abstract

We performed a serologic survey for antibodies to HTLV-I/II in the course of a longitudinal study of the neurologic complications of HIV-1 infection. Nine (3.7%) of 242 HIV-1 seropositive subjects and none of 60 HIV-1 seronegative control subjects had antibodies to HTLV-I/II by ELISA. Western blot and polymerase chain reaction confirmed the presence of HTLV-I in 2 subjects and HTLV-II infection in 2 others. Both HIV-1/HTLV-I coinfected subjects and 1 HIV-1/HTLV-II coinfected subject had a slowly progressive myelopathy clinically identical tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM). The presence of a myelopathy resembling TSP/HAM in the coinfected subjects suggests that HIV-1 may enhance the expression of neurologic disease caused by HTLV. Patients with a progressive myelopathy occurring in association with HIV-1 infection should be serologically tested for the presence of HTLV. Establishing dual infection has therapeutic and prognostic import as 1 of the HIV-1/HTLV-I subjects substantially improved with corticosteroids and the HIV-1/HTLV-II subject with myelopathy had a marked improvement in the absence of therapeutic intervention.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Deltaretrovirus / isolation & purification
  • Deltaretrovirus / physiology*
  • Deltaretrovirus Infections / complications
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Epidemiologic Methods
  • Female
  • HIV Infections / complications
  • HIV Infections / microbiology*
  • HIV Seropositivity
  • Human T-lymphotropic virus 1
  • Human T-lymphotropic virus 2
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Nervous System Diseases / etiology
  • Nervous System Diseases / microbiology*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction