Joubert J, van As A D, Lecatsas G, Bos P
Department of Neurology, University of Southern Africa, Pretoria.
S Afr Med J. 1991 Dec 7;80(11-12):592-3.
Tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) has been reported from various parts of the world for several decades. Recently reports have emerged from Japan and also countries in tropical zones associating endemic TSP with abnormally high titres of antibodies to human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I). Data indicate that this lymphotropic retrovirus is neuropathogenic, either by direct invasion or via immunopathological mechanisms. A South African man is described who met the diagnostic criteria of TSP. Both serum and cerebrospinal fluid were antibody-positive for HTLV-I. It is possible that HTLV-I infection may be implicated in the 'myelopathies of undetermined cause' that form a substantial subgroup of spinal cord disease occurring in black South Africans.
几十年来，世界各地均有热带痉挛性截瘫（TSP）的报道。最近，日本以及热带地区的一些国家也有报告称，地方性TSP与抗人类I型嗜T淋巴细胞病毒（HTLV-I）抗体滴度异常升高有关。数据表明，这种嗜淋巴细胞逆转录病毒具有神经致病性，可通过直接侵袭或免疫病理机制致病。本文描述了一名符合TSP诊断标准的南非男子。其血清和脑脊液的HTLV-I抗体均呈阳性。HTLV-I感染可能与“病因不明的脊髓病”有关，这类脊髓病在南非黑人中占脊髓疾病的很大一部分。
