Korean J Geriatr Gerontol.  2014 Dec;15(2):87-91. 10.15656/kjcg.2014.15.2.87.

A Case of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Presenting with Dementia and Gait Disturbance

• Lee SI
• Yoo IS
• Kim DH
• Son IH

• KMID: 2566532
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15656/kjcg.2014.15.2.87

Abstract

Dementia describes a group of symptoms affecting thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily function. Although, most of underlying diseases that cause dementia are not curable, some forms of dementia may be improved greatly when the underlying causes are treated. Here, we report 54 year-old woman with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection who had presented with symptoms of subacutely progressive dementia and balance problem. Initial brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was unremarkable. As the symptoms persisted and progressed, follow-up imaging study in 3 weeks revealed multiple periventricular focal white matter changes and hemorrhagic stroke in the left temporal lobe. Her neuroimaging findings corresponds to progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). This case demonstrates that PML associated with HIV infection may be responsible for the symptoms of dementia and imbalance. Although HIV carriers are not prevalent in Korea, it should be kept in mind to consider HIV relevance when seeing patients with unusual presentation of dementia symptoms.

Keyword

Dementia; Human immunodeficiency virus; Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy