The Human T cells Lymphotropic Virus (HTLV-1 and HTLV-2) are retrovirus which cause the adult T cell lymphoma/leukemia (ATL) and tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) or HTLV-associated myelopathy (HAM). Other neurologic presentations are finding include sensory disturbances and hyperactive reflexes. The prevalence of the HTLV-1 infection in Brazil is elevated (0, 8 - 1, 8%), the HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 are endemic in the Amazon region. The health care professional knows a little bit about the HTLV infection and the diseases related to these virus. This is a transversal description, case-control study with 76 patients’ carriers of the HTLV-1 and 2 admitted in the Núcleo de Medicina Tropical at Belém-Pará. The patients were submitted to clinical, functional (OMDS), neurological, laboratorial (TCD4+ lymphocytes count, proviral load quantification) evaluations and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The patients HTLV-1 with abnormal neurologic findings were the cases (n=19) and the patients asymptomatic with normal neurological evaluation were the cases-control (n=40). The female sex were 66.1%, the media age was 50.7 years. The distribution of the average TCD4+ lymphocytes count in the two groups was within the normal reference values; the proviral load was more elevated in the cases group. The search of antibody anti-HTLV-1 in the cerebrospinal fluid was positive in 93, 3% of the cases. The neurological evaluation showed 16 patients (84, 2%) with TSP/HAM (p<0.0001). In fourteen cases (73, 7%) the length of the disease was between 4-9 years. The evaluation of mass muscle strength flexor and extension of the knees showed that 63.2% of the cases had 3 degree and 68.4% had 4 degree, respectively (p<0.0001). The reflexes were normal MMSS, patellar reflex and Achilles tendon reflex were hyperactive in 78.9% and 73.7%, respectively. Babinski bilateral signal was detected in 73.7% of the cases and Hoffman signal in 26.3%. Bilateral clonus was present in 13 patients. Tactual sensibility was abnormal (31.6%), mass muscle strength of legs was stronger than normal (63.2%) and the cases had also urine symptoms (89.5%). In 17 NMR done, 13 (76.47%) had abnormal image in the thoracic bone marrow. There were not associations between proviral load, OMDS, duration of the disease and NMR findings. The most of the cases with neurological disease related to the HTLV-1 were consistent with TSP/HAM; the elevated proviral load seems to be a marker of the development of the disease.
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