Bj. Brew et al., CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID HIV-1 P24 ANTIGEN AND CULTURE - SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY FOR AIDS DEMENTIA COMPLEX, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 57(7), 1994, pp. 784-789
We prospectively evaluated 94 patients with AIDS-dementia complex (ADC
) and a smaller group of 27 patients with other HIV-1 related neurolog
ical conditions to determine the usefulness of cerebrospinal fluid (CS
F) p24 antigen and HIV-1 culture in the diagnosis of ADC. The presence
of ADC correlated with detectable CSF p24, but not with a positive cu
lture. However, only 54% of the patients with severe or end stage (sta
ges 3 and 4) ADC had detectable CSF p24 and only 25% had a positive cu
lture. Among those with detectable CSF p24, there was no discernible r
elationship between the severity of ADC and the amount of CSF p24. The
diagnostic sensitivity of CSF p24 in ADC was 21% whereas the specific
ity was 98%. CSF HIV-1 culture had a sensitivity of 30% and a specific
ity of 80%. To address the possibility of binding of p24 in immune com
plexes, thereby escaping detection, an acid hydrolysis procedure was p
erformed on the CSF and serum samples. This did not, however, make an
appreciable difference in the detection rate of p24. To delineate whet
her the finding of cell free virus in the CSF was associated with ADC,
CSF culture for HIV-1 was performed on both cell depleted and cell as
sociated fractions. It was uncommon for CSF to be culture positive in
only the cell free fraction and there was no relationship to the prese
nce or severity of ADC.