Human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection is associated with an exacerbated type 1 immune response and secretion of high levels of proinflammatory cytokines. In contrast, helminthic infection induces a type 2 immune response. In the present study, the cytokine profile in HTLV-1 carriers coinfected with helminths (Strongyloides stercoralis and/or Schistosoma mansoni) was compared...

Retroviruses are commonly associated with neurological disease in animals, for example, inflammatory encephalomyelopathies of sheep (visna virus),' horses (equine infectious anaemia virus), goats (caprine encephalitis/arthritis virus)2 and mice (murine leukaemia virus).3 The first retrovirus shown to be pathogenic in humans was discovered by Gallo's group4 who demonstrated that human lymphotrop...

Tropical spastic paraparesis or human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated myelopathy is a degenerative encephalomyelopathy with pyramidal tract dysfunction affecting the lower extremities. It is associated with HTLV-I infection and found primarily in the Caribbean region and in southwestern Japan. Five cases of tropical spastic paraparesis (or HTLV-I-associated myelopathy) in Hawaii...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the presence of carriers of the fragile X premutation among male patients with sporadic ataxia without expansion into known spinocerebellar ataxia genes. DESIGN Clinical and genetic examinations were performed on patients with sporadic pure ataxia and patients with ataxia associated with extracerebellar features such as pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs, dementia, or pe...

Epidermoid cysts have a benign etiology and can be either congenital, usually associated with malformations, or acquired, related to external events, even iatrogenic. As for their location, they are classified as extradural, intradural, extramedullary, intramedullary. Intradural intramedullary epidermoid quite uncommon, few cases reported in literature so far. Because of its slow growth, there ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE An animal spinal tumor model is needed to better simulate the clinical situation and to allow percutaneous puncture, which may provide an experimental platform for the new nonvascular interventional therapies. We established a rabbit spinal tumor model through a CT-guided percutaneous puncture inoculation technique for nonvascular interventional therapy. MATERIALS AND M...

background: human t cell lymphotropic virus type i (htlv-i)-associated myelopa-thy/tropical spastic paraparesis (ham/tsp) is an inflammatory disease which occurs in less than 2% of htlv-i -infected individuals. high proviral load, high htlv-i-specific cd8+ cytotoxic t lymphocyte frequency (ctl) and host genetic factors such as hla all appear to be associated with htlv-i infection. previous stud...