Key result
Steroid therapy is linked to improvement in ~94% of rapidly progressive or relapsing HTLV-1-associated myelopathy cases.
Why the study?
HTLV-1 typically presents as insidiously progressive myelopathy, but rare cases of rapid progression with acute onset occur and warrant characterization of clinical, diagnostic, and treatment data.
Population
1 new patient and 44 published cases of rapidly progressive or relapsing HAM
Design
Case report and review of published cases
Authors
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HTLV-1 merits testing in acute longitudinally extensive myelitis; extends evidence for steroid responsiveness in progressive HAM.
HTLV-1 infection should be considered in patients with acute, longitudinally extensive myelitis, as most patients show clinical and radiographic improvement with steroid therapy.
Morrison et al. (2026) studied this question. Rapidly progressive or relapsing HTLV-1-associated myelopathy features longitudinally extensive lesions in 93% of cases, with 94% of patients improving after steroid therapy.
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