A prospective longitudinal study of neuropsychological and psychosocial factors in asymptomatic individuals at risk for HTLV-III/LAV infection in a methadone program: preliminary findings.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

A prospective longitudinal study of neuropsychological and psychosocial factors in asymptomatic individuals at risk for HTLV-III/LAV infection in a methadone program: preliminary findings.

Int J Neurosci. 1987 Feb;32(3-4):669-76. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/87249449
Silberstein CH; McKegney FP; O'Dowd MA; Selwyn PA; Schoenbaum E; Drucker E; Feiner C; Cox CP; Friedland G

Abstract: To test the hypothesis that cognitive impairment may be present early in the course of HTLV-III/LAV infection, intravenous drug abusers (IDVAs) without overt symptoms of AIDS related illness were tested with standard neuropsychological and psychosocial measures. This study is the baseline for a prospective longitudinal study of the natural history of HTLV-III/LAV infection in this high risk population. Of 211 subjects initially evaluated, 70 (33%) were HTLV-III/LAV seropositive and 141 (67%) were seronegative. At the baseline, by univariate analysis, the seropositive IVDAs were significantly (p less than .05) more impaired than seronegatives on 4 of 8 measures: Finger Tapping--dominant, hand, Digit Span Forward, Trail making A and WAIS-Similarities. However, by multivariate analysis the seropositives were significantly more impaired only on the WAIS-Similarities and Wechsler--Associative Learning tests. Multiple factors such as drug use and psychological stress may have influenced test performance. These preliminary results, however, suggest that seropositive IVDAs may show evidence of impaired neuropsychological function even in the absence of AIDS related symptoms and are consistent with the hypothesis of the early neurotropism of HTLV-III/LAV.

Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*COMPLICATIONS/DIAGNOSIS Cognition Disorders/DIAGNOSIS Heroin Dependence/*COMPLICATIONS Human Longitudinal Studies Mental Disorders/*DIAGNOSIS Methadone/THERAPEUTIC USE Neurologic Examination Prospective Studies Psychological Tests Risk JOURNAL ARTICLE

871030
M87A0367

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