[Peripheral neurologic manifestations of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus]

Peripheral nerve lesions observed in the progressive immunodeficiency associated with infection are remarkable for their diversity and their potential severity. At the onset, demyelinating neuropathies predominate, often with signs of atypical polyradiculoneuritis associated with inflammatory lesions or vasculitis sometimes of the necrotizing type, as that observed in periarteritis nodosa. Later on, at the immunosuppression stage, axonal lesions predominate. At the AIDS stage one may find lymphomatous infiltration of nerves and nerve roots and, chiefly, opportunistic cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. This infection produces meningoradiculitis, mainly in the territory of the cauda equina, or multifocal neuropathy frequently associated with CMV retinitis. Early treatment of CMV neuropathies may stabilize the lesions or even result in functional improvement, but the overall prognosis of late neuropathies remains poor.