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Wednesdays • 5:30 PM • Training Room at BCPWA, 1107 Seymour St. Designed to accommodate working individuals, FitOne Yoga is a one-hour yoga class which supports the body and mind in forestalling the negative effect of HIV disease. FitOne Yoga promotes flexibility, range of movement, detoxification and improved muscle tone for all fitness levels. For more information 604.893. 2200 or email prevention@bcpwa.org What to bring: • Towel and water bottle • Comfortable clothes • Yoga mat (spare mats are available)
Opportunistic Infections PML is a rare disease of the central nervous system that affects immunocompromised people by Leslie Leung was 1971, and John Cunningham felt progressively weak on Itone side of his body. His eyes had become blurry over the previous month. He frequently lost balance. He couldn’t think straight. After a series of investigations, doctors determined he had a condition called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). The term sounds fancy, but doctors at that time actually knew very little about the disease. All they knew was that people with PML had a weak immune system and that a virus could be potentially causing the disease. It was from John Cunningham’s brain that Billie L. Padgett, a researcher from University of Wisconsin, first isolated the PML-causing virus, which he thus named the JC virus. Today, most cases of PML are among people with HIV; fortunately, it’s very rare. Ninety percent of the population harbours the JC virus. It enters our system through inhaling or ingesting contaminated water during childhood or early adulthood. It then sleeps in our kidneys, tonsils, and bone marrow. Most of us don’t get PML because our immune system keeps the JC virus in check. However, the virus can infect the brain, causing PML in cases where our immune system is disrupted—for example, certain types of lymphoma, use of immunosuppressant drugs, and HIV infection. In fact, 85 percent of all PML cases are from HIV infection. However, less than one percent of HIV-infected people actually acquire the disease. In most cases, PML occurs in a person with AIDS where immunosuppression is severe from low CD4 counts under 100. Unlike other opportunistic infections, PML can occur in people with CD4 counts greater than 200. Since the JC virus infects areas of the brain disrupting the transfer of nervous signals, PML can lead to sensory and motor problems. The most common symptom is limb weakness, which occurs in 52 percent of cases. Thirty to 40 percent of all cases involve decline in cognitive function, visual field loss, and difficulty speaking. Headaches, seizures, loss of movement control, and memory loss can occur, though they’re more rare. Without proper diagnosis or intervention, people with PML rapidly deteriorate and die within six months. Because PML shares symptoms similar to other AIDSdefining infections of the central nervous system, doctors need to perform special procedures to diagnose the disease. There are generally three things doctors might do if you have any of the symptoms of PML. First, doctors might take snapshots of your brain using a CT scan or an MRI to check for any abnormal lesions. Second, doctors might collect cerebrospinal fluid from your spine to see whether the JC virus is active in your central nervous system. Finally, doctors might obtain a sample of your brain tissue and look under the microscope for the JC virus. Unfortunately, there’s no known cure or a specific treatment for PML. Several drugs have been tested, but haven’t been proven to work. To date, the only therapy that has been shown to be indirectly beneficial for PML management is highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). HAART should be initiated or continued in people diagnosed with PML regardless of their CD4 count; the rationale is that a boost in the immune system can keep the JC virus in check. In fact, studies have shown that HAART increases the mean survival time of PML. 5 Leslie Leung is a University of British Columbia medical student and a community pharmacist. He volunteers with BCPWA’s Treatment Information Program. MayqJune 2010 living5 31
Page 1 and 2: inside 333 features q treatment inf
Page 3 and 4: Canada cuts funding to internationa
Page 5 and 6: The FIGHTING WORDS Fighting back Th
Page 7 and 8: Jennifer Evin Jones For the past 15
Page 9 and 10: Cover Story BCPWA is changing with
Page 11 and 12: Cover Story just some of the progra
Page 13 and 14: HIV-positive status to his partners
Page 15 and 16: Pain and anguish—and bliss One HI
Page 17 and 18: treatment *nformation TREATMENT INF
Page 20 and 21: Feature Story When old is new The i
Page 22 and 23: Feature Story and notes that future
Page 24 and 25: Antiretrovirals Whatever happened t
Page 26 and 27: Please phone 604.893.2239 or email
Page 28 and 29: Nutrition Nutrition and HIV, revisi
Page 32 and 33: Let’s clinical! get Clinical tria
Page 35 and 36: New BCPWA AGM voting procedure Now
Page 37 and 38: Volunteering at BCPWA Profile of a
Page 39 and 40: If you are a member of the BC Perso

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