Small intestinal injury and parasitic diseases in AIDS

Article Abstract:

Injury to the gastrointestinal system is common among patients with AIDS. The most frequent symptom of this injury is diarrhea and its concomitant weight loss. While it is possible that some intestinal injury may be a direct result of infection with the AIDS virus, many contend that the injury is more likely a result of infection with an unidentified bacteria, virus, or parasite. To learn more about the gastrointestinal pathology associated with AIDS, studies were conducted to assess the presence of pathogenic organisms, the physiological characteristics of the intestines, and the histopathologic appearance of biopsies taken from the jejunal region of the small intestine. The studies were performed on 43 patients with AIDS, 10 patients with AIDS-related complex, and six normal heterosexual controls. Examination of the biopsies revealed that 62 percent of the AIDS patients had evidence of small intestine damage which included partial atrophy. This was not seen in the controls. Further examination revealed the present of parasites in 70 percent of the patients with histopathological damage. These parasites were cryptosporidia or microsporidia. Furthermore, patients with these parasites were more likely to have abnormal results on the xylose absorption test, a measure of intestinal function, when compared with either normal controls or AIDS patients with diarrhea, weight loss, but no parasites. The results indicate that the AIDS patients with the most severe gastrointestinal disease are likely to be infected with parasites, most notably cryptosporidia and microsporidia. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Physiological aspects, Intestines, Coccidia, Cryptosporidium, AIDS (Disease), Gastrointestinal diseases, Cryptosporidiosis, Microsporidia, Microsporida

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Zidovudine-induced macular edema

Article Abstract:

Zidovudine (AZT) is a drug that was initially used to treat patients with advanced AIDS. Recently, patients who carry the AIDS virus, but are asymptomatic have been benefitting from zidovudine treatment. However, the drug has side effects. One case of macular edema, or swelling in the interior segment of the eye with severe visual impairment, in a 42-year-old male patient with the AIDS virus is described and attributed to the use of zidovudine. Previously, the patient had been successfully treated for bilateral anterior uveitis, an inflammatory eye condition, and his vision had returned to near-normal after therapy. Four days after zidovudine therapy was begun, his visual acuity deteriorated significantly, and macular edema was diagnosed. The zidovudine was stopped and topical steroids were administered, and his vision improved. Six weeks later, while still being treated with steroids, zidovudine was again prescribed, and the patient's vision became impaired. Macular edema was again noted, and the zidovudine was again discontinued. Because of the temporal association between the use of the drug and the patient's reduced visual acuity, it is likely that the zidovudine was the cause of the macular edema, and should be withdrawn in those patients who develop that complication. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

HIV infection, Drug therapy, HIV infections, Eye diseases, Zidovudine

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