Immunological and viral features in patients with overactive bladder indicate an early stage of myelopathy

Abstract

The majority of Human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infected subjects are considered as HTLV-1 carriers but a high frequency of urinary manifestations of overactive bladder has been documented in these individuals. The aim of this study was to determine if viral and immunological factors that are associated with development of HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) are also observed in HTLV-1 patients with overactive bladder.