JC virus detection in the cerebrospinal fluid of AIDS patients with progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy and monitoring of the antiviral treatment by a PCR method.

Twenty-four cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 19 AIDS patients with neurological signs were analysed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of JC virus (JCV). Eleven of the 19 patients tested presented with progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (PML). Two specific JCV target sequences were used for the PCR analysis: a sequence specific for the T antigen genes from both BK virus (BKV) and JCV (PCR1) and a sequence specific for the large T antigen gene from JCV (PCR2).