Progressive Mulitfocal Leukoencephalopathy

As a biology major, the mechanism of this disease is so fascinating! Just thinking about it has my mind stuck in awe.

Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy is where the nerves in the brain become demyelinated, a disease caused by the JC virus. It is a rare disease. Even though it is a rare disease, this virus is found in about 85% of the adult population. How scary is that? The small silver lining in that is this virus remains dormant in the kidney, lymph nodes, and bone marrow (if you can call that a silver lining).

So then how does this virus cause this disease? Well, this virus is nicknamed the "opportunistic virus". This is because it waits until the body in under severe immunosuppression from HIV, drugs, or other diseases. When the body is at its weakest, this virus leaves its dormant state, travels to the brain, and destroys the myelination on the nerves by undergoing its lytic reproductive cycle.  This prevents signals from being sent to and from the brain. This can occur in many part of the brain, hence multifocal.  It is such a devastating disease with no cure or effective treatment.

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Falcó, V. (2013). Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a rare but devastating disease in AIDS patients. Indian Journal Of Medical Research, 138(1), 13-15.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy - a rare but serious disease. (2013). Australian Prescriber, 36(1), 24-25.