Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in HIV-infected patients in the era of HAART: radiological features at diagnosis and follow-up and correlation with clinical variables.

The magnetic resonance (MR) imaging patterns of HIV-infected patients affected by progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in the HAART era have not been extensively documented. The aim of the present study is to describe the MR features of PML in HIV-infected patients at diagnosis, and the evolution during follow-up, evaluating the impact of HAART on imaging, and to correlate the MR pattern with the virological and immunological levels and with survival. We retrospectively reviewed MR imaging at baseline and at the last available follow-up within 6 months of diagnosis (median 4 months, range 1-6) of 31 HIV-positive patients affected by PML.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy reduces the age-associated risk of dementia in a cohort of older HIV-1-infected patients.

Historically, older patients have shown a higher risk of HIV-1-associated dementia (HIVD). The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of aging with HIVD and minor cognitive motor disorders (MCMDs) during the late-highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era and to analyze characteristics, predictive factors, and survival of older HIV-1-infected individuals affected by these disorders. A nested longitudinal study was designed for a cohort of HIV-1-infected individuals with neurological diseases.

Neuroactive antiretroviral drugs do not influence neurocognitive performance in less advanced HIV-infected patients responding to highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: To analyze the effect of antiretroviral therapy, including drugs that have good penetration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), on neuropsychologic performance.

Methods: One hundred sixty-five HIV-1-infected patients exposed to a stable highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimen were studied. Neuropsychologic examinations were performed for all patients.

Prevalence and risk factors for human immunodeficiency virus-associated neurocognitive impairment, 1996 to 2002: results from an urban observational cohort.

To assess prevalence and risk factors for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related neurocognitive impairment (NCI), the authors performed a 7-year survey in the period 1996 to 2002. A total of 432 patients were examined. HIV-related NCI was diagnosed in 238 patients (55.

Prevalence, associated factors, and prognostic determinants of AIDS-related toxoplasmic encephalitis in the era of advanced highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Background: Characteristics, associated factors, and survival probability of toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) in the era of advanced highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) have not been fully clarified.

Methods: Data for 205 individuals with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related TE were derived from the Italian Registry Investigative NeuroAIDS database, and the cases were studied longitudinally to evaluate prevalence, clinical characteristics, and survival. Moreover, the relationship between the occurrence of TE and exposure to antiretroviral therapy and to TE prophylaxis was evaluated.

A "progressive" visual loss.

An unusual cause of acute-onset and progressively worsening visual loss is presented. A 60-year-old woman was referred for left homonymous hemianopsia to our Emergency Medicine Department because of a suspected vascular accident. Ten years earlier she had been diagnosed as having chronic lymphocytic leukemia.