[Neurologic complications accompanying acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS): study of a group of 8 cases].

Eight patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) presented complications affecting the nervous system. The complaints were headache, seizure, confusion or hallucination. Neurologic manifestations included meningitis, focal deficits, cranial nerve palsy, and dementia. Cerebrospinal fluid exhibited a decrease in the percentage of T helper lymphocytes with an inverted helper-to-suppressor cell ratio. The neurologic manifestations of AIDS may depend on multiple factors, such as HIV infection of the central nervous system, concomitant infections with other agents or meningeal invasion by systemic lymphoma or Kaposi's sarcoma. Many patients develop a diffuse encephalopathy which characteristically begins with impaired concentration and mild memory loss, and progresses to severe global cognitive impairment and dementia. Perivascular infiltrates and scattered microglial nodules, consisting of aggregates of microglia and astrocytes, are the most common findings in these patients.