HTLV-I associated myelopathy: clinical and epidemiological profile.

The prevalence of HTLV-I reaches 1.8% among blood donors in Salvador, and 40% among chronic myelopathy patients in the state of Bahia, Brazil. The present study shows the epidemiological and clinical picture of patients attending the HAM/TSP Outpatient Unit at the Foundation of Neurology and Neorusurgery (FNN). 114 patients had epidemiologic data collected and 51 of these patients, who had regularly attended the HAM/TSP Unit for at least 1 year, were evaluated for signs, symptoms and disease progression. Most of the 114 patients were female (70%), of African descent, and with a mean age of 51. Sexually transmitted diseases and blood transfusion were the most common risk factors. Paraparesis with spasticity was the predominant sign (85%), bladder dysfunction occurred in 75%, intestinal dysfunction was recorded in 48%. Sensory examination was normal in 50% of the cases studied. The patients' functional status, as measured by the Kurtzke Disability Scale, during the 1 year observation period changed only in early disease. Steroid therapy with prednisone was the most commonly used treatment in this group.