Gift to neurology: A legacy of discovery

In the realm of medical discovery, some of the most profound contributions arise not from fame or glamour, but from quiet persistence, careful observation, and deep commitment.

Jamaica has a legacy that is often overlooked: the story of what was once known as the ‘Jamaican Neuropathy’, now more widely recognised as Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (TSP) or HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (HAM/TSP).

The first hints of this distinct neurological condition trace back to 1888, when Dr. Henry Strachan described a cluster of Jamaicans suffering lower limb weakness with stiffness.

In 1918, Scott published a similar case under the label ‘central neuritis’. Decades passed, but the mystery of its cause, and indeed its identity, remained unresolved.

Then, in 1956, Eric Cruickshank, Jamaica’s first professor of medicine at The University of the West Indies, published a landmark series of 100 cases. He described a lower limb paralysis, spasticity, and slow progression, coining the term, ‘Jamaican Neuropathy of uncertain aetiology’. His work gave global medicine a new lens through which to view chronic myeloneuropathies.

Yet, caring tongues and sharp minds continued probing. Researchers Pamela Johnson, Owen Morgan, P. Rodgers-Johnson, and others pressed forward. In 1988, they demonstrated that many sufferers had antibodies in their serum and cerebrospinal fluid to HTLV-1 (Human T-Lymphotropic Virus type 1), a retrovirus that infects T-cells. Their work established a causal link: the ‘Jamaican Neuropathy’ was in fact a virus-associated myelopathy. In effect, Jamaica had contributed a new disease paradigm to world neurology.

Through these efforts, the world gained a sharper understanding of HAM/TSP, a virus can slowly, insidiously impair spinal cord tracts, leading to weakness, sensory changes, and disabling paraparesis. Jamaica’s name now appears in the annals of neurology not as a footnote, but as a site of discovery.

We must celebrate not just the discoveries themselves, but the spirit that forged them: Be observant. Be knowledgeable. Be a thinker. Make a note of interesting things around you. These words simple, resolute resonate in the journey of those researchers. As you move through your week, carry them as a humble challenge.

To all the hidden scientists, clinicians, lab-workers, students: your work matters. It might be slow, unseen, rooted in the tedious repetition of assays, charts, and samples, but it changes lives, builds knowledge, and secures a place for Jamaica in global medicine. Keep questioning. Keep observing. The world needs your insight.

Contributed by Dr Lorenzo Gordon, a diabetologist, internal medicine consultant, biochemist, and a history and heritage enthusiast. Send feedback to inspiring876@gmail.com