NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF HIV-SEROPOSITIVE HEMOPHILIACS

Neuropsychological findings from investigation of 46 HIV-seropositive asymptomatic and 14 HIV-seropositive symptomatic haemophiliacs without AIDS-related complex (APC) or AIDS, with known duration of HIV seropositivity were compared with 29 seronegative controls. Subjects were assessed blindly using a battery of sensitive computerized neuropsychological tests. They underwent a thorough neurological examination, were assessed for mood and screened for psychopathology. Symptomatic HIV-positive haemophiliacs without ARC or AIDS showed statistically significant decreased performances compared with HIV-negatives in choice reaction, visuomotor coordination and global attentional performance (P = 0.018, 0.039 and 0.044 respectively). HIV-positive asymptomatic subjects gave lower performances than HIV-negative subjects in all tests, although these differences were not statistically significant. However, there was a statistically significant trend for these findings between seronegative, asymptomatic and symptomatic groups. Impairment was not associated with mood factors. Duration of seropositivity was found to be a more important factor than Centers for Disease Control stage in the choice reaction test (P < 0.01). These findings indicate that mild cognitive impairment observed during the natural history of HIV infection in haemophiliacs without ARC or AIDS may be a progressive phenomenon not necessarily associated with the clinical expression of HIV infection.