J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 1989; 1:296-302
Copyright © 1989 by American Neuropsychiatric Association
Neuropsychological function in physically asymptomatic, HIV- seropositive men
S Perry, D Belsky-Barr, WB Barr and L Jacobsberg
Department of Psychiatry, New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical College, New York.
Twenty asymptomatic, HIV-seropositive homosexual men and a control group of
20 seronegative homosexual men were evaluated for evidence of
neuropsychological impairment. Two-tailed paired t-tests of group
differences revealed that the seropositive patients had significantly lower
scores on two of 20 neuropsychological measures. Ten seropositive patients
had scores two standard deviations below the sample, compared with three
seronegative patients, a significantly different distribution (p = .04).
The HIV-infected group exhibited lower mean scores on 17 of 20 variables
(binomial probability, p less than .005). The 10 seropositive patients with
scores that fell below the cut-off had significantly lower mean T4/T8
ratios than the 10 seropositive patients with scores above the cut-off (p =
.02). The data suggest that a subpopulation of HIV-infected adults may
exhibit subtle neuropsychological impairment before they develop clinical
signs of cognitive deficit or immunosuppression.
