AIDS and mental disorders

Psychiatric and neurological manifestations of AIDS are present in 60% of AIDS patients.

These events are primarily infectious brain events related to immune deficiency (toxoplasmosis, cryptococcosis) or at LYMPHOMA (qv) primitive brain.

The most common manifestations are however related to the impairment of the nervous tissue by the virus. The virus has a tropism (attraction) to the white matter, especially some glial cells (microglia).

The usual symptoms are:

. memory disorders,

. apathy,

. psycho-motor inhibition,

. the subject is difficult to focus intellectually

. a general disinterest

. sometimes headaches.

These symptoms may be mistaken for a depressive syndrome and can wander the diagnosis.

Neurological examination is normal at this stage, the brain scanner also, but can already indicate hypodense white matter.

Sometimes, the procession will inaugural psychiatric disease with all the consequences this may have in subjects with major professional responsibilities, social or political.