Prevalence of neuropsychological deficit in HIV infection. Incipient signs of AIDS dementia complex in patients with AIDS

The present study attempts to estimate the prevalence of Aids Dementia Complex assessed by neuropsychological testing in Norwegian patients with AIDS using a clinical control group with acute leukemia and an asymptomatic HIV-positive group as reference groups. Newly diagnosed patients with AIDS and not receiving zidovudine or other anti-viral drugs, patients with asymptomatic HIV infection, and newly diagnosed patients with acute leukemia, were studied with a battery of neuropsychological tests. Speeded tests and composite non-verbal measures discriminated significantly between groups. The results indicate higher than 50% prevalence of ADC in newly diagnosed Norwegian patients with AIDS. Our findings indicate that the AIDS population may contain two distinct groups, a subgroup with ADC and a subgroup with persistently normal neuropsychological function. The group with asymptomatic HIV infection showed normal neuropsychological performance.