Review of antiretroviral therapy in the prevention of HIV-related AIDS dementia complex (ADC).

Following the introduction of zidovudine, a major decline was noted in the incidence of AIDS dementia complex (ADC). Several factors point to a causal relationship. It is important now to review the evidence derived from clinical, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and neuropathological studies to determine whether the protective effect of zidovudine on the brain of patients with HIV infection has implications for clinical practice. It has been demonstrated in clinical studies that patients with ADC may improve with zidovudine treatment and that the development of ADC is rare in patients receiving the nucleoside analogue long term. In support of these clinical findings, CSF studies have revealed that the presence of HIV-1 p24 antigen has diagnostic value in patients with suspected ADC and that p24 antigen levels decline with zidovudine treatment. Supporting evidence has also come from neuropathological studies, which have demonstrated that zidovudine decreases HIV-specific neuropathological abnormalities. Recently, the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study reported conflicting data which suggested that antiretroviral therapy is not protective against ADC; however, several methodological weaknesses of this study limit the general applicability of the findings and the conclusions. In view of the increasing body of evidence in support of the efficacy of zidovudine in the prevention and management of ADC in patients with HIV-1 infection, it seems reasonable to include this antiretroviral agent in any combination treatment regimen. Many questions remain to be answered, however, before management of such patients is optimised. Meanwhile, in order to increase both insight and evidence, it is imperative that ongoing and future clinical trials with antiretroviral drugs closely monitor all cases of progression to ADC.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)