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Pathological and Molecular Biological Features of a Myelopathy Associated with HTLV-1 Infection

1991; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 18; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0317167100031942

2057-0155

Christopher Power, Brian G. Weinshenker, Gregory A. Dekaban, John C.E. Kaufmann, Maureen Shandling, George P. Rice,

Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology

We report the pathological and molecular biological findings of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection of the spinal cord in a patient with a chronic progressive myelopathy. Light microscopy disclosed loss of myelin and axons, thickening of blood vessels and a lymphocytic cell infiltrate in the spinal cord especially at the cervical and thoracic levels. Electron microscopy confirmed the vascular appearance seen with light microscopy but virus particles were not observed. The HTLV-1 gag gene could be amplified (by polymerase chain reaction) from cervical spinal cord tissue while not from elsewhere in the neuroaxis. The presence of HTLV-1 genomic material in spinal cord tissue has not been previously reported.