HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS INFECTION – CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS (OTHER GROUPS 3)
Neurological presentations
Many patients develop neuropsychiatry manifestations including cognitive and memory impairment, personality change and mental slowness progressing to mutism, incontinence and paraplagia. The virus is neurotropic causing dementia of presenile type (AIDS-dementia complex).
Myelopathy may present as ataxia.
Peripheral neuropathy is characterised by symmetrical glove and stocking sensory loss associated with muscle pain and weakness.
Choroidoretinitis due to CMV or HIV infection may result in progressive visual loss.
Neoplastic presentations
Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is characterised by painless red-purple lesions on any part of the body including palms, soles, gastrointestinal tract and lymph nodes. KS is more common in homosexual men (up to 25%) than in other patients.
Extranodal B-cell lymphoma including brain lymphoma is reported with increased frequency in patients with HIV infection
Pyrexia of unknown origin
MAI infection becomes disseminated in ADDS patients and may present with fever, pancytopacnia and hepatitis. Kaposi’s sarcoma and lymphoma may present as pyrexia of unknown origin.
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