Acute human T-lymphotropic virus type 1-associated myelopathy: a clinicopathologic study.

BACKGROUND

Recently, acute human T-lymphotropic virus type 1-associated myelopathy (HAM) was reported clinically without pathologic information. We report an autopsy case of acute HAM.

OBJECTIVE

To report the case of a 52-year-old man with acute-onset gait disturbance followed by rapidly progressive paraplegia, who died 9 months later.

RESULTS

The postmortem study showed swelling of the thoracic spinal cord. Histologically, there was inflammation and vacuolation in the white matter.

CONCLUSION

We propose that these pathologic findings, mimicking tropical spastic paraparesis, may represent the characteristic pathologic features of acute HAM.