Tropical Spastic Paraparesis: HTLV-I Antibodies in Patients from the Seychelles

To the Editor: HTLV-I-associated myelopathies have been reported in Japan¹ and the Caribbean basin.^2,3 We studied HTLV-I antibodies in serum samples from patients with tropical spastic paraparesis who were from the Seychelles Islands; we used the Bioteck enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and an indirect fluorescent antibody test, together with HTLV-I antigen grown in HUT 102 cells. Of 20 patients with tropical spastic paraparesis diagnosed by strict criteria, 17 (85 percent) were positive for HTLV-I antibodies. Nine neurologically normal controls and five patients with other neurologic diseases were negative for HTLV-I antibodies. HTLV-I antibodies were found in one patient in the control…, No extract is available for articles shorter than 400 words.