High prevalence of skin disorders among HTLV-1 infected individuals independent of clinical status.
BACKGROUND
Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection can increase the risk of developing skin disorders. This study evaluated the correlation between HTLV-1 proviral load and CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells count among HTLV-1 infected individuals, with or without skin disorders (SD) associated with HTLV-1 infection [SD-HTLV-1: xerosis/ichthyosis, seborrheic dermatitis or infective dermatitis associated to HTLV-1 (IDH)].


METHODS
A total of 193 HTLV-1-infected subjects underwent an interview, dermatological examination, initial HTLV-1 proviral load assay, CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells count, and lymphproliferation assay (LPA).


RESULTS
A total of 147 patients had an abnormal skin condition; 116 (79%) of them also had SD-HTLV-1 and 21% had other dermatological diagnoses. The most prevalent SD-HTLV-1 was xerosis/acquired ichthyosis (48%), followed by seborrheic dermatitis (28%). Patients with SD-HTLV-1 were older (51 vs. 47 years), had a higher prevalence of myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) (75%), and had an increased first HTLV-1 proviral load and basal LPA compared with patients without SD-HTLV-1. When excluding HAM/TSP patients, the first HTLV-1 proviral load of SD-HTLV-1 individuals remains higher than no SD-HTLV-1 patients.


CONCLUSIONS
There was a high prevalence of skin disorders (76%) among HTLV-1-infected individuals, regardless of clinical status, and 60% of these diseases are considered skin disease associated with HTLV-1 infection.
HTLV-Outpatient Clinic, Institute of Infectious Diseases "Emilio Ribas," São Paulo, Brazil ; Department of Dermatology, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil.
Renata
R
Okajima
Augusto C P
AC
Oliveira
Jerusa
J
Smid
Jorge
J
Casseb
Jose Antonio
JA
Sanches
D000328:Adult; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000821:virology*