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. 2011 Nov 2;189(1):58–65. doi: 10.1016/S0344-0338(11)80117-2

AIDS-Myelopathy

A Neuropathological Study

M Bergmann 1,a, F Gullotta 1, K Kuchelmeister 1, Tina Masini 2, G Angeli 3
PMCID: PMC7130719  PMID: 8516218

Summary

Vacuolar myelopathy belongs to the AIDS-associated diseases. It is characterized by vacuolation and infiltration of the long tracts of the spinal cord by macrophages. The clinical and morphological findings of 8 AIDS-patients with vacuolar myelopathy are reported here. The syndrome developed during the final stages of AIDS and was associated with HIV-encephalopathy in 5 cases. The vacuoles were mainly due to intramyelinic swelling and vacuolation. Vacuolated macrophages and axons contributed only to a minor degree. In one case only, HIV-antigens were detected immunohistochemically. The results are discussed in the light of modern pathogenetical concepts of HIV-related diseases.

Key words: Vacuolar myelopathy, Vacuolar leucoencephalopathy, HIV-encephalopathy, AIDS related diseases

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