RW -- Do you know anything about the supposed JC virus antibody test that was supposedly going to come out at the end of this year? What help would that offer?

My neurologist has my blood checked every 3 months for the JC/BK viral DNA load. If there is anything funny they will yank you off Tysabri. I know some people who contracted PML did not test positive in their blood until well into the disease course and after clinical symptoms appeared (the best place to look of course is in the CSF) but I guess getting my blood tested is one more possible safety mechanism to put in place. They are making me get an MRI every 6 months too.

I wonder how many people were pulled off Tysabri because of a suspicious blood test or MRI but did not go on to develop PML? Those you would never hear about. Do you think that non-US people get fewer MRI's because of cost, socialized medicine, and long waits and that might also explain the higher PML rate too? Or perhaps it really is prescribing Tysabri on top of past immunosuppressant drug history.