The purpose of this study was to compare the neuropsychological functioning of 12 veterans
who were HIV-positive to 21 age-matched veterans who were HIV-negative. Consistent with expectations, the HIV-positive group was found to perform more poorly in areas related to
attention and concentration, immediate and delayed verbal recall, immediate and delayed visual
recall, visual learning, and tasks requiring psychomotor speed, while a number of language
tasks were left intact. This was similar to dysfunction often seen in HIV-related dementia
cases. However, this group was also significantly more impaired in confrontation naming, planning, mental calculations, and abstract thought when compared to the HIV-negative group. Comorbid substance abuse found in the majority of our HIV-positive subjects was thought to contribute to the HIV-related dysfunction |