Cytomembranous inclusions in the peripheral nerves in AIDS

We report finding tubuloreticular inclusions (TRI) in the endothelial cells of endo- and epineurial vessels in the sural nerve of 11 patients with AIDS. Six patients had a painful peripheral neuropathy, one a non-painful sensory neuropathy, one an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy and one a thalidomide-related neuropathy. Two patients had no clinical evidence of neuropathy. The TRI are not specific to one neuropathy and are unlikely to contribute to the pathogenesis of peripheral nerve syndromes in AIDS.