INTERFERON BETA-1A TREATMENT IN HTLV-1-ASSOCIATED MYELOPATHY/TROPICAL SPASTIC PARAPARESIS: A CASE REPORT

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Graça Maria de Castro Viana, Marcos Antonio Custódio Neto da Silva, Victor Lima Souza, Natália Barbosa da Silva Lopes, Diego Luz Felipe da Silva, Maria do Desterro Soares Brandão Nascimento
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2014
• Subjects: HAM/TSP; HTLV-1; Interferon beta-1a; Treatment; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46652014000500013; https://doaj.org/article/94aa03e42e1d4ed7a3605126eaf73368

Here a young patient (< 21 years of age) with a history of infective dermatitis is described. The patient was diagnosed with myelopathy associated with HTLV-1/tropical spastic paraparesis and treated with interferon beta-1a. The disease was clinically established as HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), and laboratory tests confirmed the presence of antibodies to HTLV-1 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Mumps, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, schistosomiasis, herpes virus 1 and 2, rubella, measles, varicella-zoster toxoplasmosis, hepatitis, HIV, and syphilis were excluded by serology. The patient was diagnosed with neurogenic bladder and presented with nocturia, urinary urgency, paresthesia of the lower left limb, a marked reduction of muscle strength in the lower limbs, and a slight reduction in upper limb strength. During the fourth week of treatment with interferon beta-1a, urinary urgency and paresthesia disappeared and clinical motor skills improved.