Abstract
Neuropsychiatric complications are present in almost one third of patients diagnosed with AIDS who show wide variations in their clinical symptoms, featuring a spectrum of disorders ranging from minor cognitive-motor impairments to profound dementia. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) is one of the most used and studied cognitive tests around the world and evaluates cognitive function and screening of dementia. Current experiment applies the MMSE to HIV/AIDS patients to screen possible dementia factors in the sample and to evaluate the association of scores that are positively associated with the emergence of cognitive impairment and possible dementia. The study population consisted of 100 HIV/AIDS patients attended at the 15 th and 17 th Regional Health Centers covering 50 municipalities in the northwestern region of the state of Parana, Brazil. Whereas patients were classified with cognitive impairment and patients without cognitive impairment, the factors assessed included depression, body mass index, haematocrit, hemoglobin levels, rate of lymphocytes T CD4+, viral load and gender. Twenty-seven (27%) patients had scores lower than expected and were considered cognitively impaired. There was a significant positive association between cognitive impairment and changes in blood hemoglobin and haematocrit, age and depression.
Highlights
IntroductionHIV infection in the host may produce different neurological problems which range from a mild cognitive and motor impairment, called Cognitive Motor Complex, attached to HIV (CMCHIV) and clinically manifested by a decrease in motor and cognitive abilities of the patient
HIV infection in the host may produce different neurological problems which range from a mild cognitive and motor impairment, called Cognitive Motor Complex, attached to HIV (CMCHIV) and clinically manifested by a decrease in motor and cognitive abilities of the patient. They neither significantly compromise the activities of the patient’s daily life nor are sufficient to fulfill the criteria of dementia (SHAND, CARCAMO, 2002), until a more serious illness, HIV-associated dementia (HAD) which seriously affects the
The population under analysis consisted of HIV/AIDS patients attended at the 15th Regional Health Center in Maringá and at the 17th Regional Health center in Londrina, which comprise 50 municipalities in the northwestern region of the state of Paraná, Brazil
Summary
HIV infection in the host may produce different neurological problems which range from a mild cognitive and motor impairment, called Cognitive Motor Complex, attached to HIV (CMCHIV) and clinically manifested by a decrease in motor and cognitive abilities of the patient. They neither significantly compromise the activities of the patient’s daily life nor are sufficient to fulfill the criteria of dementia (SHAND, CARCAMO, 2002), until a more serious illness, HIV-associated dementia (HAD) which seriously affects the. It is estimated that one third of HIV-infected adults develop dementia (BALLONE, 2003) and up to 10% of asymptomatic HIV-infected persons may have dementia as an initial manifestation of HIV infection (COLOMBRINI et al, 2001)
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