Human T cell leukemia virus-I carriers and gonarthrosis. A preliminary report

Gonarthrosis in 11 human T cell leukemia virus-1 (HTLV-I) carriers were studied for sera, synovial fluids (SF) and cerebrospinal fluids (CSF). Atypical lymphocytes similar to adult T cell leukemia cells were noticed in the SF of all the HTLV-I carriers and ranged from 19 to 1%, while those of peripheral white blood cells ranged from 3 to 0%. Anti-HTLV-I antibodies in the SF were equal to or lower than those in the sera. The CSF from 7 of them demonstrated positive titers of anti-HTLV-I antibodies, while no evidence of neurological disorders manifested. The histopathological findings of synovial membranes on hematoxylin and eosin staining method showed no statistical difference between those of gonarthrosis of HTLV-I carriers and noncarriers.