S. Ijichi et M. Osame, HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS TYPE-I (HTLV-I)-ASSOCIATED MYELOPATHY TROPICAL SPASTIC PARAPARESIS (HAM TSP) - RECENT PERSPECTIVES/, Internal medicine, 34(8), 1995, pp. 713-721
Human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated myelopathy/tropi
cal spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is a well-defined clinicopathologica
l entity, and approximately 1,900 patients with HAM/TSP have been repo
rted in the world. Improved polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based in s
itu techniques have allowed a better appreciation of the cellular loca
lization of the virus activation in infected patients, and there is ac
cumulating evidence that HAM/TSP is characterized by a distributional
bias of viral activation between the blood flow and central nervous sy
stem (CNS). This review summarizes the current status of our understan
ding of HAM/TSP, and emphasizes the possible pathogenic involvement of
cellular interactions between infected cells and responding immunocom
petent cells in the CNS of patients with HAM/TSP. In addition, the not
able systemic manifestations with or without myelopathy in HTLV-I-infe
cted individuals are described.