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Query: UMLS:C0019693 (HIV)
 170,526 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Neuroimmunomodulation encompasses, by definition, numerous components and activities primarily derived from the immune system, and treats the immunoneuroendocrine interconnections at different levels of the integrated whole functioning organism. The arbitrary unit of the immunoneuroendocrine network is the immune microenvironment composed of lymphocytes, neurons, endocrine cells, nonlymphoid accessory cells, humoral factors from immune, nervous, endocrine and other tissues, receptors for endogenous and exogenous ligands, pathways for transduction of biological signals, physiological ions, various magnetic and electromagnetic compartments, and impulses from the higher nervous activity (the mind, the psyche). The neuroimmunomodulation is a marvelous mechanism from which arises an amazing quantity of variables and intercommunications in the living organism. Being a multidisciplinary science par excellence, neuroimmunomodulation is strongly antidogmatic and favors multidirectional organization of research. That means that actions of the immune, nervous and endocrine systems should be studied together in terms of intercommunications among identifiable structures and processes. Therefore, research endeavors in neuroimmunomodulation have different directions with seminal discoveries much too numerous to list here. This mini-review is confined to some recent findings dealing with the immunomodulatory activity of micromagnetic fields when applied to the brain, the humoral and cell-mediated components of certain neurological and psychiatric diseases, the autoimmune features in heroin addicts in relation to dementia and HIV infection, the neuroimmunobiology of lithium cation, and the in vivo immune function of enkephalins, and methionine-enkephalin in particular.
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PMID:The neuro-immune network. Some recent developments. 150 27

Inflammatory processes in the brain require the cooperation of immunocompetent cells and glial cells, which communicate by secreting bidirectional mediators. Resident cells within the nervous system can synthesize and secrete inflammatory cytokines, as well as neuropeptides, contributing to the response within the CNS to injury or immunological challenge. Although the mechanisms of cell activation and immune interaction are poorly understood, accumulating evidence implicates these pathways in neuropathogenesis, as described here by Sharon Wahl and colleagues. For example, in the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), HIV-1-induced nervous system dysfunction and dementia are associated with the presence of infiltrating leukocytes and the release of inflammatory cytokines. Defining the pathways of cytokine dysregulation and neurotoxicity invoked by the infiltrating leukocytes, as well as the contribution of the neural cells themselves, may help to identify mechanisms of intervention in this and other debilitating CNS diseases.
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PMID:Cytokines and neuropathology. 150 23

Intravenous drug abusers (IVDAs) represent an increasing proportion of the HIV epidemic. Forty-three IVDA's (22 HIV-negative, 21 HIV-positive) were studied using the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS). All subjects had used intravenous heroin, but reported that they were drug-free at the time of testing. HIV-positive subjects were predominantly symptomatic and were dichotomized into AIDS and non-AIDS groups. All subjects with abnormal DRS scores were HIV-positive (57% of all HIV-positives). All HIV-negative subjects had normal DRS scores while 43% of the positive group obtained such scores. The DRS reliably identifies neuropsychological impairment, and may be a useful screening tool in this population.
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PMID:Use of the Dementia Rating Scale as a test for neuropsychological dysfunction in HIV-positive i.v. drug abusers. 151 2

Involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) is common in patients with advanced disease due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Symptoms range from lethargy and apathy to coma, incoordination and ataxia to hemiparesis, loss of memory to severe dementia, and focal to major motor seizures. Involvement may be closely associated with HIV infection per se, as in the AIDS dementia complex, but is frequently caused by opportunistic pathogens such as Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptococcus neoformans or malignancies such as primary lymphoma of the CNS. The clinical presentations of attendant and direct CNS involvement are remarkably non-specific and overlapping, yet a correct diagnosis is critical to successful intervention. Toxoplasmic encephalitis is one of the most common and most treatable causes of AIDS-associated pathology of the CNS. A great deal has been learned in the last 10 years about its unique presentation in the HIV-infected patient with advanced disease. Drs. Benjamin J. Luft of the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Jack S. Remington of the Stanford University School of Medicine and Palo Alto Medical Foundation's Research Institute have studied T. gondii for many years and are two of the leading experts in the field. This commentary comprises an update of their initial review (J Infect Dis 1988;157:1-6) and a presentation of the current approaches to diagnosing and managing toxoplasmic encephalitis in HIV-infected patients.
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PMID:Toxoplasmic encephalitis in AIDS. 152 Jul 57

There is considerable consensus regarding the entity, aetiology, and assessment of HIV-1-caused cognitive impairment. Early fears that this would be very common, and early in onset, have not been realized. Research and clinical criteria should reflect current statistical standards. The large cohorts, broad test batteries and repeated testing of population samples provide a special opportunity to resolve perennial questions regarding the relationship between mood, health, and cognitive functions. It appears that AZT prevents mild cognitive impairment associated with HIV-1, though there is no strong evidence that it treats frank HIV-1 dementia complex. The management of patients with dementia requires proper consideration, as even if the incidence of HIV-1 dementia complex is only 5-10%, this is still a substantial number of patients for population centres with large numbers of people with HIV and AIDS. The distressing nature of this condition, combined with the specialized management required for HIV itself, make it advisable that more nurses with psychiatric training are employed in wards or units specializing in HIV.
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PMID:Neuropsychological aspects of HIV infection. 156 30

There are not yet unselected studies on psychopathological syndromes in the course of HIV-infection in German-speaking countries. In a group of 55 patients in different stages of the infection two psychiatric explorations were done within an interval of about one year. The findings were analysed by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). The degree of psychosocial functioning was estimated using the GAF-scale (axis 5 of DSM-III-R). The diagnosis of dementia was based on DSM-III-R-criteria. Most of the patients (72%) showed normal or only slightly remarkable psychopathologic findings at both times. A significant increase in psychopathologic conspicuousness in the course of the disease was only found for the subscore BPRS 2 ("anergia"). Dementia was seen in five patients (9%) and only in the stage of manifest immune deficiency syndrome (WR 6). All-together there was only a slight decrease of psychosocial functioning detectable (median on the GAF-scale 75), which only in dementia showed a significant reduction.
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PMID:[Incidence of psychiatric syndromes and the psychosocial functional level of patients with HIV-1 infection]. 157 Mar 72

Three cases of AIDS in patients older than 60 years of age are presented and are characterized by the delay in diagnosis even in the face of suggestive clinical manifestations because of the lack of suspicion leading to fatal short term evolution in all the cases. The importance of HIV infection and its characteristics at this age are discussed. Transfusion is the most frequent method of transmission. The clinical manifestations do not differ from those of other ages with neurological and psychiatric manifestations being significant as a form of presentation. Evolution is usually rapidly progressive. The need to suspect HIV infection is emphasized in elderly patients when presenting typical AIDS pathology or atypical dementia or rapid evolution specially if pertaining to a risk group.
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PMID:[The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in the elderly]. 842 96

Retroviruses contain a reverse transcriptase in the virion that converts viral genomic RNA to proviral DNA. Retroviruses are divided into three groups; oncovirus, lentivirus, and spumavirus. The oncovirus group contains HTLV-1, which causes adult T-cell leukemia, encephalomyeloneuropathy, arthritis, and alveolo-bronchopathy. The lentivirus groups contains HIV, which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and dementia. The genomic structures and functions of HTLV-1 and HIV have been demonstrated to explain the pathogenesis of these retroviruses.
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PMID:[Basic understanding of retroviruses]. 163 36

We wanted to establish an in vitro human model for AIDS-associated dementia and pursue the hypothesis that this disease process may be a result of soluble factors produced by HIV-infected macrophages. Human brain aggregates were prepared from nine different brain specimens, and were treated with supernatants from in vitro HIV-infected macrophages (SI), uninfected macrophages (SU), infected T cells, or macrophage-conditioned media from four AIDS patients. Seven of nine treated brains exposed to SI showed peripheral rarefaction after 1 wk of incubation that by ultrastructural analysis showed cytoplasmic vacuolation. Aggregates from two of three brain cultures treated with SI for 3 wk became smaller, an approximately 50% decrease in size. The degree of apparent toxicity in brains exposed to patient-derived macrophage supernatants paralleled the proportion of macrophages found to be expressing HIV p24. Ultrastructural abnormalities were not observed in brains treated with supernatants from HIV-infected T cells, uninfected macrophages, or LPS-activated macrophages. Levels of five neurotransmitter amino acids were decreased in comparison to the structural amino acid leucine. These findings suggest that HIV-infected macrophages, infected both in vitro as well as derived from AIDS patients' peripheral blood, produce factors that cause reproducible histochemical, ultrastructural, and functional abnormalities in human brain aggregates.
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PMID:Human immunodeficiency virus-infected macrophages produce soluble factors that cause histological and neurochemical alterations in cultured human brains. 167 92

In an attempt to elucidate the cause and mechanism of the dementia and other neurological disorders that can occur in HIV-1 infection, we have quantitatively assessed neuronal populations, by means of a stereological technique (the disector), in the frontal cortex of patients with HIV infection. Eleven of sixty-five brains in the Medical Research Council Central AIDS Brain Bank were selected for study. The selected patients died without opportunistic infection or neoplasm affecting the brain; they had HIV encephalitis or minimal changes. We compared their neuronal counts with those of eight control subjects (seven died of systemic illness, one of pontine haemorrhage which did not affect the cerebral hemispheres). The neuronal numerical density was significantly lower in the HIV group than in the control group (mean [SD] 307 [46] vs 499 [113] x 10(2) per mm3; p less than 0.001). This difference represents a loss of about 38%. There was no significant difference between the HIV subgroups, which suggests that neuronal loss occurs in cases of minor pathology as well as in HIV encephalitis. This finding contributes to the understanding of dementia in AIDS patients and has important implications for their future treatment.
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PMID:Neuronal loss in the frontal cortex in HIV infection. 167 65


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