[Atypical lumbar and nerve-root pain associated with the HTLV-1 virus]

The human retrovirus HTLV-1 (Human T-cell Lymphotrophic Virus) is responsible for malignant proliferations of mature T lymphocytes. It is also now implicated in neurological disorders dominated by spastic paraplegia. A study of 140 cases of lumbar and root pain enabled us to identify 8 of apparently idiopathic atypical lumbar and root pain which led to the discovery of a positive HTLV-1 serology performed routinely. These cases were remarkable in terms of the rarity and minimal extent of spinal cord signs and of Lasegue's sign, their duration of more than a year and the existence of neurological signs indicative of central involvement. In 2 patients there was secondary progression to a spastic paraparesis. It would appear that the neurotropism of HTLV-1 virus is not limited to the central nervous system but that it can also involve the peripheral nervous system as indicated by certain cases in the literature as well as those collected in Martinique, an endemic area for the virus. Rheumatologists should be aware of this possibility when confronted with such cases of atypical lumbar and root pain and should seek the existence of an HTLV-1 virus infection among other viral etiologies, in particular when the patient concerned comes from an endemic area.