Evidence for early central nervous system involvement in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. Studies with neuropsychologic testing and magnetic resonance imaging.

Although a high prevalence of central nervous system disease is seen in persons with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the natural history of brain involvement with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains poorly understood. Neuropsychologic evaluations of 55 ambulatory homosexual men revealed abnormalities in 13 of 15 with AIDS, 7 of 13 [corrected] with AIDS-related complex, 7 of 16 [corrected] with HIV-seropositivity only, and 1 of 11 with HIV-seronegativity. Common neuropsychologic problems included impaired abstracting ability, learning difficulties, and slowed speed of information processing. Magnetic resonance imaging had abnormal findings in 9 of 13 patients with AIDS and 5 of 10 patients with AIDS-related complex who were available for scans. The commonest abnormalities were sulcal and ventricular enlargement and bilateral patchy areas of high signal intensity in the white matter. We postulate that central nervous system involvement by HIV may begin early in the course of AIDS and cause mild cognitive deficits in otherwise asymptomatic persons.