Neurocognitive impairment in early HIV-positive individuals.

ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to find out the cognitive impairment if any, in early stages of human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients and if there is any cognitive impairment, then its association with duration of illness detection. Fifty patients with early stages of HIV and 50 matched controls were compared in various neuropsychological tests along with demographic profiles. Seropositive patients had poorly performed in digit symbol substitution test, trail making test and controlled word association test. This impairment had no association with duration of detection of illness. It is not known whether mild neurocognitive disorder predisposes patients to the development of frank dementia. Cognitive impairment should be identified early in order to maximise functional status, enhance quality of life and survival time.