NEUROLOGICAL MANIFESTATIONS AND THEIR PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH HIV INFECTION: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

The Central Nervous System (CNS) is an important target of infection by the Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which is detected in the initial stages of the disease in the cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue, regardless of the clinical manifestations presented by the patient. Therefore, it is estimated that such neurological manifestations affect approximately 40% to 70% of HIV-infected individuals, representing the second most common site of clinical presentation of the pathology, behind only the Lymphoid System. At the same time, the impairment of the nervous system may be due to several mechanisms, namely: direct action of the virus itself, opportunistic infections, neoplasms, autoimmunity, cerebrovascular or metabolic disorders. So, a systematic review of the literature was conducted using the SciELO, Virtual Health Library (VHL) and Google Scholar platforms, applying strict criteria in order to select the articles which properly addressed the topic in question. The research results indicate that the diagnosis of neurological pathologies resulting from HIV infection are still underdiagnosed, either due to a lack of knowledge about them or the presence of subclinical manifestations which can be confused with other complications resulting from the immunosuppression state. It is concluded, due to the severity of neurological conditions and the high number of deaths underlying HIV infection in the CNS, that the topic is increasingly studied and fits into the range of differential diagnoses in immunosuppressed patients presenting neurological symptoms.