Albrechet et al. (2006) evaluated the levels of NGF in the spinal cord of patients with HAM but found no differences in the levels of NGF between patients with HAM and individuals without infection, and they suggested that the levels of NGF might not be associated with HAM because NGF levels are not able to maintain the axon structure in cases of selective injury in slow processes [33]. The gene discussed is NGF; the disease is infection.