Pulmonary function testing in HTLV-I and HTLV-II infected humans: a cohort study

BACKGROUND: HTLV-I infection has been linked to lung pathology and HTLV-II has been associated with an increased incidence of pneumonia and acute bronchitis. However it is unknown whether HTLV-I or -II infection alters pulmonary function. METHODS: We performed pulmonary function testing on HTLV-I, HTLV-II and HTLV seronegative subjects from the HTLV outcomes study (HOST), including vital capacity (VC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)), and diffusing lung capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) corrected for hemoglobin and lung volume. Multivariable analysis adjusted for differences in age, gender, race/ethnicity, height and smoking history. RESULTS: Mean (standard deviation) pulmonary function values among the 257 subjects were as follows: FVC = 3.74 (0.89) L, FEV(1 )= 2.93 (0.67) L, DLCO(corr )= 23.82 (5.89) ml/min/mmHg, alveolar ventilation (VA) = 5.25 (1.20) L and DLCO(corr)/VA = 4.54 (0.87) ml/min/mmHg/L. There were no differences in FVC, FEV1 and DLCO(corr)/VA by HTLV status. For DLCO(corr), HTLV-I and HTLV-II subjects had slightly lower values than seronegatives, but neither difference was statistically significant after adjustment for confounding. CONCLUSIONS: There was no difference in measured pulmonary function and diffusing capacity in generally healthy HTLV-I and HTLV-II subjects compared to seronegatives. These results suggest that previously described HTLV-associated abnormalities in bronchoalveolar cells and fluid may not affect pulmonary function

Respiratory and Urinary Tract Infections, Arthritis, and Asthma Associated with HTLV-I and HTLV-II Infection

Human T-lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV-I and -II) cause myelopathy; HTLV-I, but not HTLV-II, causes adult T-cell leukemia. Whether HTLV-II is associated with other diseases is unknown. Using survival analysis, we studied medical history data from a prospective cohort of HTLV-I– and HTLV-II–infected and –uninfected blood donors, all HIV seronegative. A total of 152 HTLV-I, 387 HTLV-II, and 799 uninfected donors were enrolled and followed for a median of 4.4, 4.3, and 4.4 years, respectively. HTLV-II participants had significantly increased incidences of acute bronchitis (incidence ratio [IR] = 1.68), bladder or kidney infection (IR = 1.55), arthritis (IR = 2.66), and asthma (IR = 3.28), and a borderline increase in pneumonia (IR = 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98 to 3.38). HTLV-I participants had significantly increased incidences of bladder or kidney infection (IR = 1.82), and arthritis (IR = 2.84). We conclude that HTLV-II infection may inhibit immunologic responses to respiratory infections and that both HTLV-I and -II may induce inflammatory or autoimmune reactions

Evaluation of the Predictive Power of Progesterone Receptor Levels in Primary Breast Cancer: A Comparison with Other Criteria in 559 Cases with a Mean Follow-up of 74.8 Months

A total of 559 women with primary breast cancer treated by modified radical mastectomy were followed for a mean of 74.8 months to evaluate the relationship of sex hormone receptor content in the tumor with time to first recurrence and to death due to breast cancer. The prognostic significance of progesterone receptor (PgR) status was evaluated in terms of estrogen receptor (ER) status, age (\u3c 49 years, \u3e 50 years), extent of lymph node involvement, tumor size, and morphologic characteristics. Overall, patients with PgR positive (\u3e 9 femtomoles/10 mg wet weight tissue) tumors experienced a significantly longer period to both first recurrence and death due to breast cancer, but this advantage was restricted to those whose cancer had metastasized to their axillary lymph nodes. For women with nodal involvement, the extent of this involvement and the size of the primary lesion had the greatest predictive value followed by nuclear grade and PgR status. In these node-positive patients, PgR positivity, although strongly associated with ER positivity, had a greater predictive value than that of the estrogen receptor per se

Respiratory and urinary tract infections, arthritis, and asthma associated with HTLV-I and HTLV-II infection.

Human T-lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV-I and -II) cause myelopathy; HTLV-I, but not HTLV-II, causes adult T-cell leukemia. Whether HTLV-II is associated with other diseases is unknown. Using survival analysis, we studied medical history data from a prospective cohort of HTLV-I- and HTLV-II-infected and -uninfected blood donors, all HIV seronegative. A total of 152 HTLV-I, 387 HTLV-II, and 799 uninfected donors were enrolled and followed for a median of 4.4, 4.3, and 4.4 years, respectively. HTLV-II participants had significantly increased incidences of acute bronchitis (incidence ratio [IR] = 1.68), bladder or kidney infection (IR = 1.55), arthritis (IR = 2.66), and asthma (IR = 3.28), and a borderline increase in pneumonia (IR = 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98 to 3.38). HTLV-I participants had significantly increased incidences of bladder or kidney infection (IR = 1.82), and arthritis (IR = 2.84). We conclude that HTLV-II infection may inhibit immunologic responses to respiratory infections and that both HTLV-I and -II may induce inflammatory or autoimmune reactions