2020 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 146-
Background : While Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is a slowly progressive neurological disease, the progression of the disease varies from person to person. While some blood or cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for rapid progression of HAM/TSP have been reported, no clinical parameter associated with rapid progression of HAM/TSP has been identified except for older age. Purpose : We tried to find the initial symptom associated with rapid progression of the disease using registry data on patients ( n=527 ) enrolled in the Japanese HAM/TSP patient registry "HAM-net." We determined the periods from the onset of HAM/TSP to the age of wheelchair use in daily life of all the patients and compared the periods by their initial symptom. Result : Urinary disturbance as an initial symptom was significantly associated with slowly progression of HAM/TSP. Sensory disturbance as an initial symptom was significantly associated with rapid progression. Conclusion : The result showed that Initial symptoms could suggest the disease course of the patients with HAM/TSP.
