ABSTRACT
We report on a neuropathological analysis of two cases of TSP/HAM originating from Brazil. These two cases had, respectively, an evolution of 13 and 40 years. The main neuropathological findings consisted of spinal cord atrophy, mainly the lower thoracic cord, diffuse degeneration of the white and grey matter, rare foci of mononuclear and perivascular cuffs, and hyaline hardening of arteriolae. The supraspinal structures were normal, excepting for a slight gliosis in the cerebellum. An analysis on the long evolutive cases as described in the literature is outlined in this study
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic , Brain , Nerve Degeneration , Spinal CordABSTRACT
We reviewed the historical, clinical and etiological aspects of the progressive chronic spastic myelopathies of unknown etiology, disserting on the clinical similarities between HTLV-I seropositive and seronegative tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP), as well as focusing on the PCR studies of the seronegative TSP
Subject(s)
Humans , Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic , Diagnosis, Differential , Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic/blood , Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic/diagnosis , Polymerase Chain ReactionABSTRACT
A paraparesia espástica tropical (PET)é mielopatia crônica, observada predominantemente nos trópicos recentemente descoberta ser de origem retroviral (HTLV-I). O objetivo deste estudo foi delinear a evoluçäo histórica de sua descriçäo, denominaçöes e referências etiológicas. A análise histórica revelou que essa condiçäo teve diferentes denominaçöes e a descoberta de sua etiologia retroviral em parte dos casos abriu diversas linhas de investigaçöes e interesse epidemiológico, nos trópicos e no Brasil