[A magnetic tomography study: 3 out of 4 HIV-I infected men suffer subcortical pathologic changes]

Forty HIV-1-sero-positive and 15 HIV-1 antibody negative homosexual or bisexual men were examined by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 20 neuropsychological tests. Subcortical, mainly frontal cerebral pathological aberrations were detected in 75 per cent of the patients on examination with ultra low field MRI computer assisted classification. No such changes were found among controls. The extent of the subcortical aberrations detected correlated with severity of immune deficiency, stage of infection (CDC classification), duration of infection, and reported neuropsychological symptoms. Neuropsychological testing showed impairment in memory function, concentration capacity, and fine motor control in the patients but not in the controls.