Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
IMPLICATIONS OF ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME FOR NEUROLOGICAL PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
AIDS and the Nervous System. Rosenblum ML et al, eds. New York, Raven Press, p. 377-87, 1988.. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/89648476 Bredesen DE; Dept. of Neurology, Box 0114, Room M-794, Univ. of California; Sch. of Medicine, San Francisco, CA 94143
Abstract:
Patients (pts) infected with HIV have a wide spectrum of immunologic background in which neurologic disease often occurs. Therefore, the evaluation of neurologic dysfunction in this group of pts has offered a new angle from which to view neurologic disease in pts without HIV infection. This chapter considers the implications of previous findings and research into HIV-related neurologic syndromes in relation to the understanding of neurological disorders not related to HIV infection. Topics include 'autoimmune' disorders, virus-immune system interactions, human retroviral disease, neoplasia, and degenerative diseases. Conceivably, any of several mechanisms might operate in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated disorders. The cellular arm of the immune system may be involved, antibodies might be generated that cross-react with a pathogen and a normal cell surface molecule, an immunologic response may occur due to direct infection of the target, and immune complexes may be deposited. The study of HIV and its related diseases may provide insights into neoplasia, especially concerning oncogenic DNA and RNA viruses; virally mediated events leading to neoplasia; and the mechanisms of oncogenesis in immunocompromised patients. HIV belongs to the retroviral subfamily Lentivirinae, the members of which mostly are not associated with neoplasms. An important question is, in the immune system's defense against tumor formation, is the more critical role before or after neoplastic transformation, or are both equally important? The answer to this question could have important implications for asymptomatic HIV-seropositive persons (eg, regarding the use of prophylactic antiviral agents) and for immunodeficient pts in general. At present, little is known about the behavior of various latent and persistent viruses in pts with HIV infection. Because of the long latency of virally mediated cancers and the short period that most of the 1.5 million HIV-seropositive pts have carried the virus, new associations between neoplasia and HIV seropositivity may appear in future decades. (55 Refs)
Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/COMPLICATIONS/*PHYSIOPATHOLOGY Autoimmune Diseases/PHYSIOPATHOLOGY Human Nerve Degeneration Nervous System/PHYSIOPATHOLOGY Nervous System Diseases/ETIOLOGY/*PHYSIOPATHOLOGY Opportunistic Infections/ETIOLOGY/PHYSIOPATHOLOGY Virus Diseases/ETIOLOGY/PHYSIOPATHOLOGY MONOGRAPH REVIEW, TUTORIAL REVIEW
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