Neurological manifestations of HIV infection in Kwazulu-Natal South Africa.

South Africa has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world and KwaZulu-Natal, one of its nine provinces, is the epicentre of the epidemic. Of the estimated 5.3 million people infected with HIV in South Africa, 1.2 million reside in KwaZulu-Natal. Transmission of HIV is almost exclusively heterosexual, intravenous drug misuse does not occur and the patients attending state hospitals are antiretroviral drug naive. The neurological complications of HIV infection include bacterial and fungal meningitis, intracranial mass lesions, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a variety of spinal cord disorders, and peripheral nerve dysfunction. Tuberculous meningitis, especially that due to multidrug resistant organisms has a high mortality rate. Toxoplasmosis is the most frequent cause of intracranial mass lesions. These cases are successfully treated with cotrimoxazole alone. Multiple bacterial abscesses and tuberculomata are other important causes whilst primary central nervous system lymphoma is rare. The spinal cord disorders include co-infection with HTLV-I, tuberculosis and syphilis. Intramedullary tuberculomata, often multiple, and spinal epidural tuberculous abscess without bony disease are seen more commonly than in the pre HIV era. Peripheral nerve dysfunction include Gillian Barre Syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and mononeuritis multiplex. Until the antiretroviral therapy roll out programme is well established the above HIV related neurological complications will continue to be seen for several years.