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Combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the only effective treatment available for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), but even with ART, prognosis remains poor. Might the antiviral agent cidofovir have some clinical benefit?
To address this question, investigators pooled raw data from six international clinical studies involving a total of 370 HIV-infected patients who received PML diagnoses between 1996 and 2004. All patients initiated or continued ART after PML diagnosis, whereas cidofovir was prescribed only at the discretion of the treating clinician or per study protocol. Outcomes assessed included disability, time to PML-related death, and overall survival. Survival analyses were stratified by study cohort, given the…