Neuronal number and volume alterations in the neocortex of HIV infected individuals

Substantial neuronal loss in the superior frontal gyrus in patients who have died of AIDS have been reported previously. This investigation examined the distribution of neuronal loss in three other neocortical areas and, alteration in neuronal volume in four neocortical areas. This was carried out using two stereological probes, the "disector" and the "nucleator". These recently developed methods provide estimations, regardless of size and shape, in real three-dimensional space, and are more efficient than conventional quantitation. The study was performed on 12 HIV infected individuals and nine controls. The HIV group had no neuropathological evidence of opportunistic infections or neoplasms, five had HIV encephalitis and the remaining seven had only minimal pathology. There was significant neuronal loss of 30% (p = 0.018) in the calcarine cortex (primary visual area), and loss of 18% in the superior parietal lobule which just failed to reach significance. This loss was not related to the presence of HIV encephalitis. The mean neuronal volume was increased in the occipital area by 29% (p = 0.028) and the frequency of large neurons (over 2000 microns 3) doubled in the frontal (p < 0.05) and parietal (p < 0.02) areas. The results confirm the hypothesis that HIV infection is associated with neuronal injury and death, and suggest that increase in neuronal size may be a feature of the cytopathology of this condition.