Improved survival of HIV-1-infected patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy receiving early 5-drug combination antiretroviral therapy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare devastating demyelinating disease caused by the polyomavirus JC (JCV), occurs in severely immunocompromised patients, most of whom have advanced-stage HIV infection. Despite combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), 50% of patients die within 6 months of PML onset. We conducted a multicenter, open-label pilot trial evaluating the survival benefit of a five-drug cART designed to accelerate HIV replication decay and JCV-specific immune recovery.

Methods and findings

All the patients received an optimized cART with three or more drugs for 12 months, plus the fusion inhibitor enfuvirtide during the first 6 months. The main endpoint was the one-year survival rate. A total of 28 patients were enrolled. At entry,

SUBMITTER: Gasnault J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3127950 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature