Active human herpesvirus (HHV-6) infection of the central nervous system in patients with AIDS
Article Abstract:
Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) infection, rather than HIV infection, may cause brain damage in AIDS patients. Researchers studied the brains of six adult patients who died of AIDS. The brains of four patients contained areas of damage, and the damaged areas contained HHV-6 infected cells. HHV-6 infection was only observed in areas of brain damage. HIV infection may have also been present, but there was no evidence that it caused brain damage. The damaged brains in this study strongly resembled that of a person who died from brain inflammation caused by HHV-6 following a bone marrow transplant. HHV-6 may cause brain damage in people with weakened immune systems, such as people with AIDS or people who have received transplants. AIDS dementia complex may be the outward sign of HHV-6 infection of the brain.
Publication Name: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 1077-9450
Year: 1995
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JCV-DNA and BKV-DNA in the CNS tissue and CSF of AIDS patients and normal subjects: study of 41 cases and review of the literature
Article Abstract:
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in AIDS patients could be caused by a reactivation of latent JC virus (JCV) in the brain. PML is a disease of the central nervous system characterized by the destruction of the protective myelin sheath around nerves. Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situ hybridization (ISH) on brain samples taken at autopsy, researchers discovered that all 13 samples from HIV-infected patients with PML were positive for JCV and 44% of samples from those without PML were positive by PCR. Even one-third of samples from people who died of other causes were positive for JCV. However, only samples from AIDS patients with PML had evidence of JCV in cerebrospinal fluid.
Publication Name: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 1077-9450
Year: 1996
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The impact of primary central nervous system lymphoma in AIDS patients: a population-based autopsy study from Oslo
Article Abstract:
The incidence of primary central nervous system (PCNS) lymphoma in AIDS patients may be underestimated. Researchers at the Oslo hospital that treated 91% of all adult AIDS patients in the city performed autopsies on 153 (73%) of the 211 who died. Twenty-nine had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and 19 of these had PCNS lymphoma. The lymphoma had been suspected in less than half while they were alive and only definitely diagnosed in one. The percentage of patients who had PCNS lymphoma increased as the time since their AIDS diagnosis increased.
Publication Name: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 1077-9450
Year: 1997
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