Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2007-4-24
pubmed:abstractText
Following the development of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in two multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with natalizumab and interferon-beta (IFNbeta), a possible correlation between JC virus (JCV), the etiological agent of PML, and MS has received heightened interest. In particular, attention has focused on assessing whether IFNbeta treatment could affect the replication of JCV and thus its frequency in the peripheral blood of MS patients and whether the presence of JCV DNA in peripheral blood could be a predictive marker of the risk of developing PML. In order to answer to these questions, peripheral blood samples were collected from 59 INFbeta-treated, 39 untreated relapsing-remitting MS patients, and 98 healthy controls (HCs) and JCV DNA levels were determined and quantified by means of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) assay. Overall, no differences were found in the presence or viral load of JCV DNA of MS patients and the HCs, but JCV DNA was significantly less frequent in the peripheral blood of IFNbeta-treated patients (13.6%) compared to the untreated MS patients (46.1%) and the healthy controls (28.6%). These results suggest that the presence of JCV in the blood of MS patients cannot be considered as a marker or a risk factor for PML development. In addition, they indicate that treatment with INFbeta can lead to the reduction of presence of the JCV genome in the peripheral blood of MS patients and, thus, that this drug probably does not increase the risk of PML in MS patients treated with IFNbeta.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
1355-0284
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
13
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
73-7
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-4-10
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2007
pubmed:articleTitle
JC virus viremia in interferon-beta -treated and untreated Italian multiple sclerosis patients and healthy controls.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural