title: High prevalence of human T cell lymphotropic virus type II infection in patients affected by human immunodeficiency virus type 1--associated predominantly sensory polyneuropathy.
abstract: The etiopathogenesis of peripheral neuropathy (PN) that frequently affects human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1-positive patients remains undefined. Forty-seven HIV-1-positive patients with PN (8 with inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and 39 with predominantly sensory polyneuropathy [PSP]) and 266 controls with symptomatic HIV-1 infection without PN were screened for antibodies to human T cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) types I and II. The prevalence of antibodies to HTLV-II was significantly higher in patients with PSP than in controls (30.8% vs. 8.3%; P < .001). All seropositive patients with PN had HTLV-II DNA in their peripheral blood mononuclear cells by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. PCR analysis of tissues from 1 patient with PSP who died during the study showed HTLV-II proviral sequences in the femoral nerve and basal nuclei. These results support the hypothesis that HTLV-II represents an etiologic factor in the pathogenesis of a considerable proportion of PSP in patients infected with HIV-1.
authors.affiliation: Clinica delle Malattie Infettive, University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zehender
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Maddalena
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Osio
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cavalli
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Parravicini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moroni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galli
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D000328:Adult; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015497:HIV-1; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies