An unusual neurological feature of HIV-1 encephalopathy: Gerstmann's syndrome

The authors describe the first case in literature of Gerstmann's syndrome (agraphia, acalculia, finger agnosia) occurred in HIV correlated encephalopathy developed as the first severe manifestation of HIV infection in a patient with prevalent white matter neuroradiologic alterations. The PDL rapidly extended from the left subcortical parietal-occipital regions to the pre-rolandic one, with subsequent involvement of the corpus calosum splenium and the bilateral temporal lobes white matter. The authors indicate the extent of the lesions and the involvement of the interhemispheric connection fibres as the pathogenetic mechanism of the "Gerstmann syndrome", that until today has not been reported in the literature of the wide variety of AIDS dementia complex. The administration of 1 g of zidovudine for about 9 months did not avoid the establishing of the neurologic damage, but the sudden suspension of the drug could have enhanced the exacerbation of inflammation and the involvement of areas whose lesion is classically believed responsible for cognitive impairment.