Cerebral vasculopathy in HIV infection revealed by transcranial Doppler: A pilot study.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is growing evidence for affection of cerebral vessels during human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We prospectively evaluated cerebrovascular reserve capacity (CRC) in HIV-seropositive patients by transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) after systemic administration of acetazolamide. We hypothesized that a disturbed vasoreactivity would reflect the cerebral arteries' involvement in HIV infection. METHODS: We assessed the mean blood flow velocity (BFV) of the middle cerebral artery and its increase after intravenous administration of 1 g acetazolamide (CRC) in 31 HIV-infected individuals without symptoms of cerebrovascular disease (mean+/-SD age, 39+/-11 years). Stenotic or occlusive lesions of the large brain-supplying arteries were excluded by color-coded duplex and transcranial imaging. BFV and CRC were also measured in an age-matched group of 10 healthy control subjects. Patients were classified according to clinical, laboratory, and neurophysiological parameters. We also performed cerebral MRI (n=25) and rheumatological blood tests (n=26). RESULTS: Baseline BFV and CRC both were significantly reduced in HIV-infected patients as compared with control subjects (P<0.05, Student's t test). These findings did not correlate with duration of seropositivity, helper cell count, or other clinical, rheumatological, and neuroradiological findings. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the hypothesis of a cerebral vasculopathy etiologically associated with HIV infection.[1]References
- Cerebral vasculopathy in HIV infection revealed by transcranial Doppler: A pilot study. Brilla, R., Nabavi, D.G., Schulte-Altedorneburg, G., Kemény, V., Reichelt, D., Evers, S., Schiemann, U., Husstedt, I.W. Stroke (1999) [Pubmed]
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