PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - K Nakao
AU  - M Matsumoto
AU  - N Ohba
TI  - Seroprevalence of antibodies to HTLV-I in patients with ocular disorders.
AID  - 10.1136/bjo.75.2.76
DP  - 1991 Feb 01
TA  - British Journal of Ophthalmology
PG  - 76--78
VI  - 75
IP  - 2
4099  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/75/2/76.short
4100  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/75/2/76.full
SO  - Br J Ophthalmol1991 Feb 01; 75
AB  - Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-I) has been shown to spread worldwide and to be responsible for distinct systemic diseases, namely adult T-cell leukaemia and HTLV-I-associated myelopathy. Immune-mediated, inflammatory lesions in the lungs, joints, and lacrimal glands (Sjögren's syndrome) are also suggested to be associated with the retrovirus. We studied seroprevalence of antibodies to HTLV-I in patients with various ocular disorders who are residents of south-west Japan, one of the endemic areas of HTLV-I. Of 310 patients with ocular disease 72 (23.2%) were seropositive. This seroprevalence did not differ significantly from that of the general population of the area. As regards individual ocular diseases, aetiologically undefined nonspecific uveitis showed a significantly high seropositivity for HTLV-I. Of 44 patients 18 (40.9%) were seropositive. Their clinical features were acute or subacute, transient and sometimes recurrent, and granulomatous changes in the anterior uvea. Patients with isolated cotton-wool spot of the retina, non-familial retinitis pigmentosa, or keratoconjunctivitis sicca did not show any significantly high prevalence of HTLV-I infection.