Follow-up of HTLV-1 positive individuals in the GIPH cohort (1997-2013): Proviral load was not a prognostic marker for HAM/TSP

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POSTER PRESENTATION Open Access
Follow-up of HTLV-1 positive individuals in the
GIPH cohort (1997-2013): Proviral load was not a
prognostic marker for HAM/TSP
Poliane C Gonçalves
1
, Gabriela S Freitas
1,2*
, Luiz CF Romanelli
1
, Fernando A Proietti
1
, Anna B Carneiro-Proietti
1
,
Marina L Martins
1
From 16th International Conference on Human Retroviruses: HTLV and Related Viruses
Montreal, Canada. 26-30 June 2013
Background
HTLV-1 proviral load (PVL) is considered a risk marker
for diseases.
Methods
Quantification of HTLV-1 PVL was performed in 151
samples of 38 asymptomatic carriers (AC) collected at
different times during follow-up (6.1 to 14.8 years, mean
10) and in samples of five individuals who developed
HAM/TSP during follow-up (2.6 to 11.3 years, mean 7.2).
We used SYBR Green and number of proviral copies/
10,000 cells. Fluctuation of proviral load level was defined
at 0.5 log or more.
Results
PVL was stable in 52.6% (20/38) and floated in 47.4%
(18/38) subjects. In AC, the median of PVL in the 1st sam-
ple was 85 and in the last 59 (p = 0.59). Among those indivi-
duals with low PVL who showed fluctuation, it remained
low (£1%) in 77.8%. In 60% with high PVL who showed
fluctuation, it remained high during follow-up. 10 patients
developed HAM/TSP during the follow-up, and PVL was
quantified before and after in 5 cases. Median of PVL in the
1st sample was 445, and in the last sample 98 (p = 0.56). In
all cases, PVL was higher in the asymptomatic period,
declining after onset of HAM/TSP.
Conclusions
PVL reaches a plateau, characteristic of each individual; high
PVL appears to be followed by decrease and stabilization in
lower levels. Although PVL is supposedly a risk marker for
HAM/TSP, it had modest prognostic value in our cohort;
changes in clinical status and PVL did not coincide, besides
occurrence of high stable PVL in AC. Hemominas/FAPE-
MIG/DECIT/MS.
Authors’details
1
GIPH (Interdisciplinary HTLV Research Group); Hemominas, Belo Horizonte,
Minas Gerais, Brazil.
2
Faculdade da Saúde e Ecologia Humana (FASEH),
Vespasiano, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Published: 7 January 2014
doi:10.1186/1742-4690-11-S1-P23
Cite this article as: Gonçalves et al.: Follow-up of HTLV-1 positive
individuals in the GIPH cohort (1997-2013): Proviral load was not a
prognostic marker for HAM/TSP. Retrovirology 2014 11(Suppl 1):P23.
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* Correspondence: gabrielaaseabra@gmail.com
1
GIPH (Interdisciplinary HTLV Research Group); Hemominas, Belo Horizonte,
Minas Gerais, Brazil
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Gonçalves et al.Retrovirology 2014, 11(Suppl 1):P23
http://www.retrovirology.com/content/11/S1/P23
© 2014 Gonçalves et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
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