Clinical presentation of axial myopathy in two siblings with HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP)

BACKGROUND: The clinical features of myositis related with Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) remains unclear despite epidemiological studies suggesting inflammatory myopathy associated with the virus. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we described the clinical presentations, muscle biopsy studies and laboratory results of two siblings with HTLV-1-associated myelopathy / tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) who were affected with lumbar lordosis. Computed tomography (CT) scans demonstrated marked paraspinal muscle atrophy in both patients. Immunohistochemical studies of biopsy tissue obtained from one of the patients revealed inflammatory change of the muscle. Upon oral prednisolone therapy, the patient showed improvement in muscle strength and serum creatine kinase (CK) level. CONCLUSION: Myopathy or specifically axial myopathy should be considered as clinical symptom when treating the patients with HTLV-1 infection.