the role of human t-lymphotropic virus (htlv) in cardiovascular diseases: a review of literature

Cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. chronic inflammation is an important risk factor for atherosclerosis, and viral infections can cause cardiovascular disease by developing inflammation. infection with human t-lymphotropic virus (htlv) is endemic in some parts of the world such as japan, africa, caribbean islands, south america, and iran. htlv-1 is an oncogenic retrovirus, and can cause adult t-cell leukemia/lymphoma (atl or atll). it alsocauses htlv-i-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (ham/tsp). a number of inflammatory diseases such as uveitis, arthritis, and sjogren's syndrome are also associated with the virus. a few case reports have shown the direct involvement of the heart in htlv-1-positive patients who develop atll. the purpose of this study was to review the literature relevant with the role of htlv in cardiovascular diseases.