Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in patients with HIV infection.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a formerly rare disease, is estimated to occur in up to 5% of all patients with AIDS. The high prevalence of PML in AIDS patients currently enables a comprehensive evaluation of this disorder. We evaluated the clinical and radiographic features of PML in a large cohort of AIDS patients identified by retrospective chart review from 1981 to 1994.

Oxandrolone in AIDS-wasting myopathy.

Objective: To evaluate oxandrolone, an oral anabolic steroid with potent anabolic activity and minimal androgenic effects, for the treatment of AIDS-associated myopathy and wasting.

Methods: In a multicenter, double-blind study, 63 HIV-seropositive men with > 10% loss of body weight were randomized to receive either placebo, 5 mg/day oxandrolone, or 15 mg/day oxandrolone for 16 weeks. Body weight, neuromuscular evaluation, and measures of well-being were repeatedly assessed.

Headache and human immunodeficiency virus infection: a case control study.

The new onset of headache in a person infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may be an ominous sign of a significant underlying neurological disorder. This case control study compares the prevalence of headache in HIV-seropositive persons without identifiable neurological disease on study entry to that in an HIV-seronegative control population with similar risk factors for HIV infection. Features of headache that were evaluated included frequency, duration, location, severity, and recent change in characteristics.

Asymptomatic and neurologically symptomatic HIV-seropositive subjects: results of long-term MR imaging and clinical follow-up.

Cranial magnetic resonance (MR) images were prospectively obtained in 74 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive subjects, all of whom had undergone MR imaging 24-42 months earlier. The images were interpreted by neuroradiologists blinded to the subject's clinical status and were compared with the initial MR images and clinical findings. Ten subjects had mild neurologic symptoms, with mildly abnormal unchanged images in five (50%).

Effect of anabolic steroids on HIV-related wasting myopathy.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is frequently associated with weakness and muscle wasting, referred to as HIV-1 wasting myopathy. This illness, often observed in the advanced stages of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), responds poorly to therapeutic intervention. We describe the cases of three AIDS patients with HIV-1 wasting myopathy who had a favorable response to anabolic steroids as evidenced by an improvement in strength, muscle bulk, body weight, and sense of well-being.