Pain is Highly Prevalent in Individuals with Tropical Spastic Paraparesis

Abstract

To determine the prevalence and characteristics of pain in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with HTLV-1, for HAM/TSP, Cross-sectional study conducted in patients with HTLV seen at a referral center for patient care and research in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Sociodemographic data were evaluated by means of interviews. The presence of neuropathic pain was evaluated by the DN4 questionnaire, its intensity by the Visual Analog Scale and its location by the body map, Among the 115 patients, 84.3% complained of pain. The most affected locations were the lumbar spine and lower limbs (63.1%). Of these 46.1% presented defined or probable HAM/TSP. There was no association between the type of pain and presence of HAM/TSP, but symptomatic patients had a higher prevalence of pain in relation to asymptomatic for HAM/TSP, We found a high prevalence of pain in patients with HAM/TSP, mainly located in the lower back and lower limbs.