Generic medications used to treat other disorders may also be able to stop a fatal viral infection that’s nearly untreatable right now and that’s become increasingly common among AIDS patients.Researchers from Brown University found some antipsychotic medications, and possibly even an antihistamine, can block a receptor, called 5HT2A, that lets a virus known as JCV enter the central nervous system. Once the virus gets into the nervous system, it progresses to the disorder called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), which causes dementia, vision loss, movement and speech impairment, and even death.The virus is very common -- up to 80 percent of American adults carry it. Fortunately, PML is relatively rare, affecting only one in every 200,000 people. In people with AIDS, however, that number is much higher. Almost 4 percent of people with AIDS develop the disorder. People who have had transplants or cancer treatment or who have a compromised immune system for other reasons are also susceptible to the disorder. The incidence of PML has increased 50-fold since 1979, largely due to the rise in the number of people with AIDS, according to the study.
