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R H Enting

Publications and source records attributed to R H Enting.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Presentation and course of AIDS dementia complex: 10 years of follow-up in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical presentation and course of the AIDS dementia complex (ADC). DESIGN: Retrospective study of a consecutive series of symptomatic HIV-1-infected patients [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stages IVA, B, C and D] evaluated for neurological symptoms between 1982 and 1992. SETTING: An academic referral centre for AIDS. PATIENTS: A total of 536 symptomatic HIV-1-infected patients evaluated for neurological symptoms between 1982 and 1992. INTERVENTIONS: Zidovudine treatment, which was introduced in The Netherlands on 1 May 1987 for patients with severe symptoms of HIV infection (CDC stages IVA, B, C and D). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Diagnosis of ADC and CD4 cell count, clinical features, neuropsychological abnormalities, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings and course in patients with ADC. RESULTS: ADC was diagnosed in 40 out of 536 (7.5%) immunosuppressed, neurologically symptomatic HIV-1-infected patients in CDC stage IV, and was the AIDS-defining illness in six. The mean CD4 cell count of the 40 patients with ADC was 109 x 10(6)/l. Neuropsychological abnormalities in 15 out of 17 patients tested were in accordance with subcortical dementia. On CT scan of the brain, 70% showed no or only mild cortical atrophy. MRI was more sensitive than CT scan for detecting white matter abnormalities (73 versus 35%; P = 0.02). CSF examination showed mononuclear pleocytosis in 25%, protein level increase in 55%, and HIV-1 p24 core protein in 38% (13 out of 34). The mean survival was 6.7 months in the 40 ADC patients, but 4 months in 20 patients who had never used zidovudine, compared with 14.8 months in 10 patients who started zidovudine after they were classified as having ADC (P < 0.001). Three of these 10 patients improved remarkably, and two slightly, after starting zidovudine. ADC developed after discontinuation of zidovudine in nine patients. Only one patient developed ADC while receiving 600 mg zidovudine. CONCLUSIONS: MRI is more sensitive than CT for detecting white matter abnormalities. To date, there is no specific or sensitive CSF marker for ADC. Zidovudine may improve symptoms and prolong survival in patients with ADC, which rarely developed with continued zidovudine use in our study.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗

[Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in AIDS].

This study was carried out to determine clinical features, abnormalities on CT scan and MRI, and course in patients with HIV-I-related progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). There were 14 patients with a presumptive diagnosis of PML among 500 HIV-I infected patients with neurological complaints, examined between September 1982 and May 1991 in the University Medical Centre in Amsterdam by a neurologist. In these 14 patients clinical features, imaging abnormalities and course of the disease were analysed retrospectively. All patients presented with progressive focal neurological abnormalities. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed aspecific abnormalities in 5/13 patients. CT scanning of the brain showed hypodense areas in the white matter, without mass effect and with contrast enhancing in only one patient. MR Imaging of the brain showed high signal intensity areas in white matter and in gray matter (10/13), without mass effect, and with contrast enhancement in two. Specimens for neuropathological examination were obtained from 7 patients; in all these cases the diagnosis of PML was confirmed. In patients with AIDS a presumptive diagnosis of PML can be based on clinical features, brain imaging abnormalities and course. However neuropathological confirmation remains the gold standard. Usually the course in these patients was steadily progressive. Most patients died within one year.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗