Cerebrospinal fluid catecholamine metabolites in HIV-infected patients

Twenty-eight HIV-seropositive individuals--11 asymptomatic cases, 8 with lymphadenopathy syndrome (LAS), and 9 with AIDS--were investigated. Clinical staging of the AIDS dementia complex was done in the 9 AIDS patients. The catecholamine metabolites 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) and homovanillic acid (HVA) in CSF were determined in all the HIV patients and in 20 healthy volunteers. The CSF MHPG levels did not differ significantly between healthy subjects and HIV-infected patients at any stage of the infection. The CSF concentrations of HVA differed between the groups only during the AIDS stage. The mean CSF HVA value in the AIDS patients was 42% lower than in the healthy subjects and significantly lower than in any other stage of HIV infection (P less than .01). Patients with signs of the AIDS dementia complex had reduced CSF HVA levels, but there was no clear relationship between HVA concentration and stage of the AIDS dementia complex.