JC virus Flashcards
1
Q
What does slow virus cause?
A
Progressive pathological processes involving mainly CNS (with clinically silent incubation periods of many months or years)
2
Q
What is another name for JC virus?
A
Human polyomavirus
3
Q
What is the disease it cause?
A
Progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy
4
Q
Characteristic
Shape, genome
A
Circular double-stranded DNA
5
Q
In who does it commonly infect?
A
- Imunocompromised patients: lymphoma, leukemia, receiving immunosuppressants
- HIV infection (10%)
6
Q
What cells does it infect?
A
Oligodendrocytes
7
Q
How does clinical presentations occur?
A
Reactivation of latent JCV infection
8
Q
How is it dissemianted?
A
Blood
9
Q
What are the clinical presentations of the disease it cause?
A
- Mental status changes followed by speech/language deficits, visual deficits, generalised/focal weakness
- Neurologic signs: lack of coordination, cranial nerve palsies, loss of vision, sensory loss, language disturbance, unsteadiness
10
Q
How to diagnose?
A
- Brain biopsy (definitive)
- Detect focal lesions and abnormalities of white matter on neuroimaging studies (CT or MRI)
- PCR of DNA from CSF
11
Q
Is there an effectiev treatment?
A
No
