CHANGE IN NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE IN ASYMPTOMATIC HIV-INFECTION - 1-YEAR FOLLOW-UP

Objective: To examine the stability of cognitive function in patients with asymptomatic HIV infection. Design: Previous longitudinal studies of cognitive function have focused on patients who progress in terms of disease stage. The present study avoided this potential confounding factor by including only subjects who remained in the asymptomatic st age of infection over the follow-up period. Method: Subjects were admi nistered an extensive neuropsychological test battery at baseline and 1 year follow-up. Overall performance was characterized as normal or a bnormal based on the performance of a well-matched HIV-negative contro l group. Results: A significantly higher proportion of HIV-positive su bjects became abnormal at the follow-up examination. Comparison of the seropositive subjects who remained normal with those who became abnor mal revealed no differences at baseline on age, education, depression or CD4 levels. Subjects who became abnormal had worse performance at b aseline on measures of information processing, verbal learning and mem ory, and reaction time. Conclusions: These data indicate that cognitiv e function may decline in some patients who continue to be in the asym ptomatic stage of infection. Patients with a pattern of cognitive abno rmalities at baseline, which includes information processing and react ion time deficits, may be at increased risk for declines in function d uring early stages of infection.