NEUROCOGNITIVE DISORDERS SEEN IN HIV DISEASE

Abstract

Despite dramatic improvements in the therapeutic management of clients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease, cognitive disorders still appear as clinical manifestations of the illness trajectory. The development of neurocognitive impairment is associated with high levels of HIV activity and the resultant severe degree of immunosupression. Although many clinicians almost exclusively associate HIV-related cognitive dysfunction with HIV encephalopathy and dementia, the etiologic conditions are numerous and include not only HIV infection affecting the brain, but also infections and neoplasms, as well as adverse effects of prescribed therapies. Treatment strategies include pharmacologic interventions, alternative and complementary therapies, and milieu management.