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Subclinical peripheral nerve involvement in AIDS: an electrophysiological and pathological study
G N Fuller1, J M Jacobs, R J Guiloff
1Department of Neurology, Westminster Hospital, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, London, UK.
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
|April 1, 1991
Summary
Peripheral neuropathy in patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) shows axonal degeneration, similar to normal aging. These nerve changes are not specific to HIV infection.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Virology
- Pathology
Background:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) can affect the nervous system.
- Peripheral neuropathy is a potential complication, but its characteristics in asymptomatic patients require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To electrophysiologically and pathologically assess peripheral nerves in asymptomatic AIDS patients.
- To determine if observed nerve changes are specific to HIV infection.
Main Methods:
- Electrophysiological testing (compound muscle action potentials, sensory action potentials, F waves) in 30 AIDS patients and 23 controls.
- Sural nerve biopsy analysis at necropsy in 5 AIDS patients and 8 controls.
Main Results:
- AIDS patients showed reduced nerve potential amplitudes and slowed conduction velocities.
- Nerve changes included axonal degeneration, particularly affecting larger fibers, without inflammation or demyelination.
- These electrophysiological and pathological findings did not correlate with AIDS duration or immune status.
Conclusions:
- Asymptomatic AIDS patients exhibit axonal degeneration of peripheral nerves.
- The observed nerve degeneration is similar to that seen in normal aging and other chronic conditions.
- The axonal degeneration is not specific to HIV infection.