A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF THE COGNITIVE AND MOTOR EFFECTS OF PEDIATRIC HIV-INFECTION IN ZAIRIAN CHILDREN

Fourteen asymptomatic HIV-infected Zairian children under 2 years of a ge displayed social and motor developmental deficits on the Denver Dev elopmental Screening Test when compared with 20 HIV-negative cohorts b orn to HIV-infected mothers and 16 control children. In a second study , 11 infected children over 2 years of age had sequential motor and vi sual-spatial memory deficits on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Chi ldren and motor development deficits on the Early Childhood Screening Profiles. HIV infection affects central nervous system structures medi ating motor and spatial memory development, even in seemingly asymptom atic children. Furthermore, maternal HIV infection compromises the lab or-intensive provision of care in the African milieu and undermines gl obal cognitive development in even uninfected children.