Late HIV-1 Infection
Key points
- The evolving, and eventually severe, impairment of immune defenses caused by HIV-1 renders the nervous system highly vulnerable to a broad spectrum of disorders.
- A number of pathophysiologic processes may lead to neurologic dysfunction in the late phase of HIV-1 infection (Table 411-1) .
- The following overview emphasizes general principles of pathogenesis and approach to diagnosis.
- These include conditions that distinguish the AIDS patient from other groups, such as opportunistic infections, opportunistic neoplasms, and several conditions that appear to relate to more direct effects of HIV-1 itself.
The evolving, and eventually severe, impairment of immune defenses caused by HIV-1 renders the nervous system highly vulnerable to a broad spectrum of disorders. The following overview emphasizes general principles of pathogenesis and approach to diagnosis.
Pathophysiology
A number of pathophysiologic processes may lead to neurologic dysfunction in the late phase of HIV-1 infection (Table 411-1) . These include conditions that distinguish the AIDS patient from other groups, such as opportunistic infections, opportunistic neoplasms, and several conditions that appear to relate to more direct effects of HIV-1 itself.
AIDS patients are also susceptible to the neurologic conditions that affect other acute and chronically ill populations, including metabolic brain disease resulting from systemic organ dysfunction, stroke related to nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis or coagulopathies, toxic effects of medications, and primary psychiatric disturbances. Here we focus on those disorders that particularly distinguish AIDS patients.
Written and revised by
Gerald Hurowitz, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
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