AEGiS-11IAC: In situ evaluation of apoptosis in the brain of AIDS patients with HIV encephalitis and dementia.

11th International AIDS Conference

Vancouver, British Columbia — July 7-12, 1996

In situ evaluation of apoptosis in the brain of AIDS patients with HIV encephalitis and dementia.

Int Conf AIDS 1996 Jul 7-12; 11:448 (abstract no. Pub.B.1066)
Costanzi G, Sala E, Vago L, Nebuloni M, Bonetto S, Porini G, Isella A; Pathology Unit, Institute of Medical Sciences, L. Sacco Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. Fax: ++39 2 38200385.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the presence and extension of apoptosis in the brain of AIDS patients with histological proven HIV encephalitis/encephalopathy (HIVE/L) and dementia.

METHODS: Apoptosis was demonstrated in situ by the TUNEL method on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections obtained from frontal lobe of 15 AIDS patients with a diagnosis of severe dementia and a histological autopsy diagnosis of HIVE/L. DNasel treated seriate sections were used as positive controls for TUNEL reaction. Until now, four patients with HIVE/L and without symptoms of dementia were also evaluated by the same method.

RESULTS: Apoptotic cells were found in 6/15 cases of AIDS patients with dementia, and in none of the four patients without dementia. In all but one of the positive cases, rare positive cells were observed, mainly with a perivascular distribution and morphological features of glial cells. In only one case positive cells were found in greater proportion and apoptotic cells with neuronal morphology were observed.

CONCLUSIONS: Apoptosis can be observed in the brain of less than half of AIDS patients with dementia. The number of apoptotic cells, however, seems to be very low, and neuronal involvement can be demonstrated only in a minority of the cases.

Keywords: AEGIS, AIDS Dementia Complex, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Brain, Apoptosis, Neurons, Evaluation Studies, Frontal Lobe, Autopsy, Human, nursing, ICA11

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