Strain J; Australasian Society for HIV Medicine. Conference.
Annu Conf Australas Soc HIV Med. 1993 Oct 28-30; 5: 23 (abstract no. FPI-4).
This paper will address the prevalence, the etiology, and the treatment of the organic mental disorders that accompany HIV infection, with special attention to the dementias. Late-stage HIV infection is frequently associated with a syndrome of progressive dementia, presumably etiologically related to the virus activity in the brain, although it may occur at any stage of the disease, even as the presenting symptom. Navia and Price described this clinical stage as "AIDS dementia complex (ADC)." Macrophages, microglia and neuronal cells have been found to be affected by the virus in autopsy specimens. Studies describe that the prevalence of HIV dementia among AIDS patients ranges from 50% to 70%. Early diagnosis is complicated by the relative nonspecificity of the most common symptoms: short term memory dysfunction, mild confusion, psychomotor slowing, and headache, which can be confused with depression or reactions to the illness. Advanced dementia in HIV patients is characterised by severe memory loss, incoordination, tremor, hyper-reflexion, disturbances of gait, paranoid states, and seizures. Chemotherapeutic and psychotherapeutic management of these organic states will be discussed.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- AIDS Dementia Complex
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Brain
- Confusion
- Dementia
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Humans
Other ID:
UI: 102207925
From Meeting Abstracts