The risk of certain psychiatric disorders appears uniquely elevated in HIV+ men. Since other factors also influence risk, interventions designed to minimize psychopathology during HIV infection should attend to both HIV-related and non-HIV-related risk factors.

No abstract

We examined the neurological differences between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected men (n = 193) and women (n = 41) receiving primary medical care. There was no difference between men and women in the rate of HIV-related neurological syndromes (i.e. polyneuropathy, myelopathy, myopathy, HIV- dementia [HAD]). A logistic regression analysis indicated that low CD4+ cell count predicted all neurological syndromes. In addition, HAD was predicted by intravenous-drug use and lower education level, while neuropathy was associated with older age and with race. These findings indicate that there are no differences in the rate of neuropsychiatric disorders attributable to gender. The presence of other factors (e.g. drug abuse) could explain previously reported gender differences in neurological manifestations of HIV infection.

The authors assessed 72 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with a self-rating slowness scale (SRSS) concerning mental and motor slowness in their activities of daily living. In order to understand the relationship between complaints of slowness and predictor variables, the investigators developed a preliminary model using multiple regression analysis. Reports of slowness on the SRSS were independently associated with self-reported cognitive and neurological symptoms and with peripheral neurological syndromes (e.g., neuropathy, myopathy). Lesser contributions to self-perceived mental and motor slowness were found for neuropsychological measures of information processing speed, severity of the infection, depression, HIV encephalopathy, and sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, education). The relationship among the predictor variables showed that complaints of slowness reflect neurological, psychiatric/psychological, and cognitive symptomatology of the HIV infection.

This study extends previous work analysing functional dissociations occurring in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) by demonstrating that material-specific memory loss is common. The pattern of neuropsychological dysfunction in 191 patients with probable AD was examined and 13% presented with material-specific memory loss. Thirteen patients had impaired immediate verbal recall, but normal non verbal recall and 12 had impaired non verbal recall and normal verbal memory. These patterns appeared to be related to a specific memory deficit and were probably not secondary to associated cognitive impairments. These data confirm earlier observations that the memory defect in AD can be materialspecific, and suggest that these patterns of impairment should be viewed as a focal sparing of finction.