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Long-term course and outcome in AIDS patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis
G Arendt1, H J von Giesen, H Hefter
1Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany.
Objectives:
We compared clinical long-term course and outcome in all AIDS patients admitted to our outpatient department from January, 1989 to June, 1998 with toxoplasma encephalitis (TE) as first AIDS-defining infection (n= 106) and in 106 patients with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) as first AIDS-defining disease.
Material And Methods:
The 2 groups were matched with respect to age, sex, risk group, degree of immunodeficiency as measured by CD4 cell counts and duration of HIV-1-positivity. TE was diagnosed radiologically and by response to treatment.
Results:
Forty-three TE patients surviving the first TE symptoms > 14 months developed dementive symptoms, leucoencephalopathy in imaging procedures and died from dementia. In contrast only 5 patients surviving PCP for an equally long period showed dementive symptoms.
Conclusion:
Cerebral infections like toxoplasma encephalitis (TE) may negatively influence HIV-1-activity so far latent in the brain.