Human T-lymphotropic retrovirus type-1 in Thailand.

Seroprevalence of antibodies to human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) was surveyed among the Thai population by the particle agglutination test and Western blotting test. None of a total of 727 individuals from seven ethnic groups were positive for the specific antibody to HTLV-1. Among hospital based 3,427 subjects in Southern Thailand, one patient with a brain tumor showed positivity in the Western blotting test, however, HTLV-1 proviral genome was not identified by PCR. The present data suggest that HTLV-1 is not endemic in the Thai population and that HTLV-1 is not a major public health problem in Thailand because HTLV-1 rarely causes its associated diseases.

Preliminary report on the short stature of Southeast Asian forest dwellers, the Manni, in southern Thailand: lack of an adolescent spurt in plasma IGF-I concentration.

Plasma concentration of insulin-like growth factor type-I (IGF-I) was studied among the Mannis in Thailand to find a possible cause of their short stature. The Mannis are hunting and gathering indigenous tribal peoples living in Asian tropical rain forests. A total of 50 plasma specimens from three different Manni groups in southern Thailand were used in this study. The concentrations of acid-ethanol extract of plasma IGF-I were measured by radio-immunoassay. We found that (1) plasma concentration of IGF-I in the Mannis was low, (2) there was no adolescent spurt in IGF-I levels, and (3) the post adolescent plasma IGF-I level of the Manni was significantly lower than that of age-matched Japanese. Low IGF-I levels among the Mannis may account for their short stature.