Neuropsychiatric consequences of AIDS.
As part of a study in progress, neuropsychological tests have been administered to 13 patients with clinical acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, 9 human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive patients, 4 seropositive patients with chronic active hepatitis, 5 seronegative patients with chronic active hepatitis, and 6 healthy controls. Consistent with findings in earlier patient and control groups, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients had substantially lower scores on a variety of cognitive tests. Although the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome group is not education-matched at present, the results are nonetheless consistent with impairments of language function and timed, self-paced performance. Test results obtained may reflect focal and global cognitive impairment as well as motivational decrements in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome relative to seropositive patients or controls.