ROUTINE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY TO DOCUMEN T THE STATUS OF HIV PATIENTS AT DIFFERENT STAGES - A LONG-TERM STUDY

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a well-tolerated non-invasive method a nd is therefore well suited for repetitive examinations.We performed s erial EEG's on 117 HIV patients without any clinical signs of secondar y neuromanifestation in order to document electroencephalographic chan ges in the course of HIV infection.Clinical signs of HIV-associated en cephalopathy presented 18 patients at the first examination and 23 at reexamination. EEGs were analyzed visually;there was a mean interval o f 20.3+/-13.7 months between the first and the second examination.Sign ificant slowing of background activity occurred in the course of the d isease;the a rhythm decreased from 10.7+/-2.3 Hz to 10.0+/-2.4 Hz (P<0 .05) with an increase in amplitudes from 60.9+/-24.6 mu V to 69.5+/-33 .7 I.LV (P<0.05).The percentage of spontaneous dysrhythmias also incre ased from 30.7% to 41.8% (P<0.05); pathological findings provoked by h yperventilation increased from 13.6% to 18.2%. Foci occurred rarely an d did not increase in frequency with time. CD4 cell counts decreased f rom 294.2+/-209.5/mu l to 188.7+/-208.3/mu l (P<0.01).The results of t his study indicate progressive CNS dysfunction with worsening of the i mmunostatus.