AIDS neurological damage includes AIDS dementia syndrome, recurrent or chronic meningitis, chronic progressive myelopathy, peripheral neuropathy and so on.
1. AIDS dementia syndrome: early stage can be seen as emotional apathy, social avoidance, loss of libido, slow thinking, inattention, forgetfulness, such as depression or mania, movement disorders, weakness of the lower limbs, ataxia, Parkinson’s syndrome and so on.
Severe dementia, immobility, dyskinesia, paraplegia, urinary incontinence, or imaging showing cortical atrophy, ventricular dilatation, and white matter changes may be seen in advanced stages.
2. Recurrent or chronic meningoencephalitis: manifested by chronic headache and meningeal irritation signs, which may be accompanied by damage to the trigeminal, facial and auditory nerves.
3. Chronic progressive myelopathy: there are obvious lesions of the posterior and lateral cords of the spinal cord, and the white matter of the spinal cord can be seen to be vacuolated (vacuolated myelopathy), which is manifested as spastic paraparesis, deep sensory deficits, sensory ataxia and dementia.
4. Peripheral neuropathy: it can be manifested as distal symmetrical polyneuropathy, most mononeuropathies, chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy, sensory ataxia neuropathy, progressive polyneurogenesis and ganglionic nephritis, of which polyneuropathy is the most common.
AIDS patients should go to the hospital for timely examination and standardized treatment under the guidance of doctors.