Patients at Risk

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Abstract
In clinical trials, the term “patients at risk” refers to the altruistic people who volunteer to participate in studies of novel treatments. In this issue of the Journal, three reports13 provide details about patients who were participating in trials involving experimental treatment with natalizumab for either multiple sclerosis or Crohn's disease and who were affected by progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). PML is a rapidly progressive, often fatal demyelinating brain disorder caused by infection of the central nervous system with JC virus4; it usually occurs in patients with diminished T-cell function. These events remind us once again of the . . .