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Clinical characteristics of HTLV‐1 associated dermato‐polymyositis
Author(s) -
Smadja D.,
Bellance R.,
Cabre Ph.,
Arfi S.,
Vernant JC.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1995.tb01689.x
Subject(s) - polymyositis , medicine , myelopathy , tropical spastic paraparesis , muscle biopsy , dermatomyositis , dermatology , etiology , myositis , myopathy , pathological , inflammatory myopathy , prednisolone , methylprednisolone , biopsy , pathology , surgery , spinal cord , psychiatry
Myositis linked to HTLV‐1 is unfrequent. Over a period of 8 years, 14 patients with inflammatory myopathy were diagnosed in Martinique. Seven were seropositive for HTLV 1 antibody; the clinical and pathological data of whom are presented herein. Five patients presented with polymyositis, two with dermatomyositis. All seven patients had extra‐muscular clinical features including neuropathy (4/7) and myelopathy (6/7), resulting in a quite peculiar clinical picture. Muscle biopsy showed a neurogenic process combined with myositic changes in 3/7 patients. Corticotherapy led to dramatic improvement in only one case, but with no sustained effect. HTLV 1 may be considered the etiological agent of this form of dermato‐polymyositis, characterized by a clearly distinctive clinico‐pathological picture, and a poor response to corticotherapy. As in the case of tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV 1 associated myelopathy, careful assessment of non‐steroidal therapy is now warranted.