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Differential Diagnosis of HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders

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Encyclopedia of AIDS

Definition

Cognitive dysfunction in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients is common and can be a difficult diagnosis for the treating physician in the face of multiple potential causes. Cognitive dysfunction persists in up to 50 % of HIV-infected patients in the post-highly active antiretroviral therapy (post-HAART) era, with milder forms predominating (Cysique et al. 2004; Cohen and Gongvatana 2010). The differential diagnoses are divided into those relevant to virally suppressed patients and those that are not, with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) common to both groups.

In patients who are virally suppressed, the diagnoses more commonly encountered, apart from HAND, are substance abuse, psychiatric illness, and hepatitis C, both through its direct effects on cognition and through hepatic encephalopathy. The clinical significance of ageing and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and vascular cognitive impairment is not presently clear though the...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurology and HIV Departments Sydney, St. Vincent’s Hospital, 390 Victoria St, Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW, 2010, Australia

    Justin Y. Garber & Bruce J. Brew

  2. Peter Duncan Neurosciences Unit, St. Vincent’s Centre for Applied Medical Research, 390 Victoria St, Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW, 2010, Australia

    Bruce J. Brew

Authors
  1. Justin Y. Garber
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  2. Bruce J. Brew
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Correspondence to Bruce J. Brew .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Cell & Molecular Biology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Thomas J. Hope

  2. Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA

    Mario Stevenson

  3. University of California, San Diego Dept. Pathology, La Jolla, California, USA

    Douglas Richman

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Garber, J.Y., Brew, B.J. (2015). Differential Diagnosis of HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders. In: Hope, T., Stevenson, M., Richman, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of AIDS. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9610-6_215-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9610-6_215-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9610-6

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