Pathologic correlations between ocular and cerebral lesions in 36 AIDS patients

The eyes and brain have rarely been studied simultaneously in AIDS patients. We have examined both the eyes and brain of 36 patients autopsied these past 3 years. Ten cases had concomitant involvement of eyes and brain by the same pathology: cryptococcus neoformans in 1, aspergillus in another, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in 5, and B cell lymphomas in 2 (1 patient had the last 2 disorders associated). One patient presented pericapillary microhemorrhages in the retina of the left ocular globe as well as in the right occipital lobe. Six other patients had isolated CMV retinopathy and 4 others had B cell cerebral lymphomas. Eleven patients with foci of cerebral toxoplasmosis did not have visible cysts of toxoplasma gondii in their retina, in agreement with the other series devoted to the concomitant study of the eyes and brain in AIDS patients. On the other hand, their simultaneous involvement in an AIDS patient must first point to CMV infection.