Polyradiculoneuropathy in transfusion-associated AIDS and dorsal root pathology

A 68-year-old woman developed a clinical picture of a painful subacute polyradiculoneuropathy. Her condition improved dramatically after treatment with plasmapheresis. A few months later she was found to have serologic evidence for the human immunodeficiency virus. This infection was traced to a contaminated transfusion received three years earlier. Postmortem studies disclosed pathology affecting mainly dorsal roots.