progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a neurological disorder that damages the myelin that covers and protects nerves in the white matter of the brain. It is caused by the JC virus (JCV). By age 10, most people have been infected with this virus, but itrarelycauses symptoms unless the immune system becomes severely weakened.The disease occurs, rarely, in organ transplant patients; people undergoing chronic corticosteroid or immunosuppressive therapy; and individuals with cancer, such as Hodgkins disease, lymphoma, and sarcoidosis. PML is most common among individuals with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).