Association of painful peripheral neuropathy in AIDS with cytomegalovirus infection.

12 AIDS patients with a clinically, electrophysiologically, and pathologically homogeneous painful peripheral neuropathy had a significantly higher rate of any or active clinical cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection than did a group of 30 AIDS controls. In 9 patients this syndrome began in close temporal association with clinical infection with CMV. Painful peripheral neuropathy in AIDS may be caused by a CMV dorsal root ganglionitis.