The FDA has posted on its website reports of a woman’s death from a brain infection a year after taking the arthritis and cancer drug Rituxan and warned doctors to cease using the drug if any symptoms of the brain infection appear. The drug, co-marketed in this country by Genentech and Biogen, has been very popular for the treatment of arthritis and certyain forms of cancer.
While the FDA posted the information on its website, the link between the drug and brain infection is still tenuous. The infection is known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML and has no known cure. The infection is caused by a reactivation of a common virus in the central nervous system of those with weakened immune systems. Symptoms include weakness or paralysis, vision loss, impaired speech, and cognitive deterioration.
Cases of PML had been reported in patients who were using it for which the drug wasn’t approved such as Lupus. According to the FDA, this is the first report for a patient taking Rituxan for arthritis.