Abstract
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a deadly demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, which occurs in immunosuppressed individuals. This disease is caused by a reactivation of the polyomavirus JC (JCV). Clinical presentation can be variable from patient to patient as lesions can occur anywhere in the CNS white matter; however, they appear to spare the optic nerves and the spinal cord. The authors present a case of PML in the setting of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who developed PML lesions in the spinal cord, discovered during the postmortem examination. This finding is significant because PML has recently been diagnosed in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with the novel immunomodulatory medication natalizumab. Indeed, spinal cord lesions are frequent in MS. Therefore clinicians should be aware that in addition to the brain, PML may also affect the spinal cord white matter.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 474-476 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Journal of neurovirology |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2007 |
Keywords
- AIDS
- Demyelination
- HIV
- Immunosupression
- JC virus
- Multiple sclerosis
- Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
- Spinal cord
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Neurology
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
- Virology