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A rapid method for in situ hybridization for viral DNA in brain biopsies from patients with AIDS
1Section on Molecular Virology and Genetics, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Abstract:
Brain biopsy is often necessary in the diagnosis of neurological complications found in AIDS patients. We describe here a rapid method of tissue preparation and in situ DNA hybridization for detecting JC virus DNA in frozen brain biopsy sections which allows the diagnosis of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy to be established on the day of surgery. Once the diagnosis is established, therapeutic and management decisions can be made more easily. The commercial availability of biotinylated probes for several of the DNA viruses most frequently encountered in brain infections of AIDS patients will provide wide application of these techniques to patient management.