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Biomedical subjects

A Gessain

Publications and source records attributed to A Gessain.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Detection of retrovirus particles and reverse transcriptase activity in mid-term cultured peripheral blood and lymph node cells from a French woman with Sezary syndrome.

Retrovirus particles, with an ultrastructure of type C-virus similar to HTLV-I were observed in several mid-term cultures of leukemic cells derived from a woman with a well characterised Sezary syndrome who had always resided in France. Reverse transcriptase activity was detected in supernatant fluids from day 6 to day 40 of culture. However, negative anti HTLV-I serology and the absence of specific molecular hybridization between leukemic cell DNA and two HTLV-I derived probes, argue against a HTLV-I virus.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Human retroviruses HTLV-I, HIV-1, and HIV-2 and neurological diseases in some equatorial areas of Africa.

HTLV-I is associated with tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) in the Caribbean area and with certain chronic myelopathies termed HAM (HTLV-I-associated myelopathy) in Japan. In order to investigate the situation in Africa, we tested for HTLV-I, but also for HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies, 94 patients with epidemic spastic paraparesis (ESP) from Zaire and Tanzania, 26 cases of sporadic spastic paraparesis (SSP) and 21 cases of tropical ataxic neuropathy (TAN), both from Ivory Coast, and 319 unselected neurological patients from Ivory Coast, Congo, and Tanzania. While none of the 94 ESP cases nor any of the 21 TAN patients exhibited antibodies to any retrovirus, 4 of the 26 sporadic spastic paraparesis patients had high HTLV-I antibodies in their sera and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Three of those were clinically and immunologically identical to TSP, as observed in persons from the Caribbean region, and the fourth case, a poorly explored chronic pyramidal syndrome, could also represent a TSP. Only one of these four cases originally had HIV-1 antibodies. Among the 319 unselected patients, only 5 (1.6%) had HTLV-I antibodies, but 32 (10%) had HIV-1 antibodies and 14 (4.4%) had HIV-2 antibodies, with a number of combined infections, indicating that retroviruses represent potentially important etiological agents for African neurological diseases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Intrathecal synthesis of antibodies to human T lymphotropic virus type I and the presence of IgG oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with endemic tropical spastic paraparesis.

Tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP), a neuromyelopathy predominantly involving the pyramidal tract and commonly observed in tropical and equatorial areas, was recently found to be associated with human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I). We investigated sera and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 19 patients with TSP who were from the Caribbean area, French Guiana, and Africa. Our results showed an elevated intra-blood-brain barrier IgG synthesis rate and an elevated IgG index, with an increased HTLV-I antibody-to-albumin ratio and the presence of CSF oligoclonal bands in the majority of the patients. These data, in association with similar HTLV-I antibody patterns between patients with TSP who were from these three regions, strengthen the probable etiologic role of HTLV-I in the pathogenesis of such chronic neuromyelopathies.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[Establishment of a T lymphoid cell line producing a retrovirus of HTLV-I type, from peripheral blood of a patient with tropical spastic paraparesis].

HTLV-I, the causative agent of Adult T cell Leukemia, has recently been found to be associated with chronic neuromyelopathies common in tropical areas and in Japan. We report here the establishment of a lymphoid T cell line from peripheral blood lymphocytes of a patient with Tropical Spastic Paraparesis. This cell line produces a retrovirus whose morphologic, antigenic and genetic characteristics show no detectable difference from the leukemogenic prototype of HTLV-I.

Antigens, Viral, Tumor↗
PubMed1988

[HTLV-I virus and associated chronic neuromyelopathies. Current data and hypotheses].

Human T cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type I (HTLV-I) isolated in 1980, is a human retrovirus. This CD4+ lymphotropic type C retrovirus is endemic in South Western Japan, the Caribbean region and Africa where it is associated with a rare form of lymphoproliferative disease, adult T cell leukemia. Recently, HTLV-I antibodies has been found in sera and CSF from patients with tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP), a chronic neuromyelopathy of unknown etiology common in tropical areas and in Japanese patients with a similar clinical myelopathy. These data suggest that HTLV-I or an antigenically related virus might be neurotropic or neurovirulent and etiologically linked to such chronic neuromyelopathies. The fact that TSP affects about 10 to 100 persons/100,000 in tropical HTLV-I endemic areas, a prevalence comparable to that of multiple sclerosis in temperate regions, increases considerably the public health interest in HTLV-I and associated diseases. The possible neurotropism or neurovirulence of this retrovirus is discussed.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1988

[Adult T-cell leukemia associated with HTLV1 and positive HIV2 serology in an African woman].

We report a case of acute adult T-cell leukemia associated with HTLV1 infection in a young African woman. The leukemic proliferation consisted of CD4-, CD25-positive lymphoid cells with typically convoluted nuclei and monoclonal integration of the HTLV1-proviral DNA. The clinical course was characterized by a rapid progression of the leukemia with development of hypercalcemia, resistance to chemotherapy, and the presence of multiple opportunistic infections. The additional finding of a seropositivity for HIV2 raises the problem of the respective contribution of the two retroviruses in this patient's disease.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1987

Endemic tropical spastic paraparesis associated with human T-lymphotropic virus type I: a clinical and seroepidemiological study of 25 cases.

Tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) is a common myeloneuropathy with primary and predominant involvement of the pyramidal tract and minimal sensory loss. The epidemic form of TSP is related to toxic nutritional factors, but the endemic form occurs in clusters in tropical areas, especially in India, Africa, the Seychelles, Colombia, and areas of the Caribbean. We describe the clinical and epidemiological features of 25 TSP patients from Martinique (French West Indies) with serum antibodies to human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I). Furthermore, all 11 patients who were seropositive for HTLV-I had specific HTLV-I antibodies in their CSF. All were women. The age of onset varied from 25 to 60 years (mean, 45 years). The main clinical features are spastic paraparesis or paraplegia with spasticity of the upper limbs, minimal sensory loss, and bladder dysfunction. Minimal estimated incidence and prevalence are 1 per 100,000 inhabitants per year and 8 per 100,000, respectively. Seventeen percent of the relatives of patients with HTLV-I-associated TSP have HTLV-I antibodies (1 husband and 7 children). In Martinique, the prevalence of HTLV-I antibodies in the general population is about 2% and reaches 10% for neurological disorders other than TSP. Since our initial report, the association between spastic paraparesis and HTLV-I has been confirmed in Jamaica, Colombia, and Japan, suggesting the neurotropism of this lymphotropic human retrovirus.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

HTLV-I antibody and cell-mediated immunity status in sickle cell anemia.

Patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) had an abnormal susceptibility to infections. In Martinique (French West Indies), a human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type I (HTLV-I) endemic area, we found that 17 (10%) of 173 SCA patients had antibodies to HTLV-I. The possible relationship between HTLV-I seropositivity and altered immunity was studied in 13 SCA patients with HTLV-I antibodies compared with 13 matched SCA patients without HTLV-I antibodies. The immunological results, as evaluated by the T-cell subsets analysis, the lymphocyte proliferation responses analyzed after activation with concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, or pokeweed mitogen, and the natural killer activity were not statistically different in these two groups of patients (SCA HTLV-I positive vs SCA HTLV-I negative). These data suggest that HTLV-I infection did not result in a major alteration of cellular immunity in this population.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗
PubMed1986

[Tropical spastic paraparesis in Martinique. High prevalence of anti-HTLV-I antibodies].

Owing to the frequent occurrence in tropical countries of subacute spinal cord diseases of unknown origin, a nosological entity called tropical spastic paraparesis has been individualized. Twenty-two cases have been observed in Martinique. The presence in the serum of antibodies directed against human T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV-I) in 15 of these 22 patients suggests that this lymphotropic virus or a related one might also be neurovirulent.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

[Seroepidemiologic data on viral infections (HTLV-I and LAV/HTLV-III) in the Caribbean region and intertropical Africa].

Since two years our laboratory is involved in the sero-epidemiology of retroviruses in Martinique, French Guiana and Equatorial Africa. French West Indies is an endemic area for HTLV-I with 3 to 5% positivity in blood donors. Such a prevalence increases with age in the general population, reaching 30% after 60 years of age. Data are given here regarding hematological and neurological syndromes observed in Martinique and associated with HTLV-I. Furthermore, we recently discovered an association between HTLV-I and the neuro-myelopathy named endemic Tropical Spastic Paraparesis. Such an association has been confirmed in Jamaica, South West Japan and Ivory coast. French West Indies appeared quite free of LAV/HTLV-III in 1983/1984 but AIDS cases have been increasingly diagnosed in 1985. Recent data (early 1986) from the Blood Transfusion Center in Martinique (Dr. N. Monplaisir) indicate that 0.45% of blood donors have LAV/HTLV-III antibodies, as detected by the ELISA test. We present here a comparative view of preliminary prevalence data for LAV/HTLV-III in different areas of Equatorial Africa.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗