HIV/AIDS and the Nervous System

This volume in the Handbook of Clinical Neurology (Series Editors:: Michael J. Aminoff, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, USA; François Boller, Bethesda, USA; Dick F. Swaab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) covers the neurological aspects of HIV/AIDS. The complications of AIDS described include opportunistic infections, central nervous system tumours, spinal cord disorders, peripheral neuropathies and progressive encephalopathy. The advances in molecular biology and the advent of other investigative techniques are described that have transformed the understanding of the basic mechanisms of the disease and the development of therapeutic strategies. Despite the much improved prognosis provided by antiretroviral therapy, the situation is different in the developing world and a chapter highlights the neurological aspects of HIV/AIDS as found there. This volume gives a comprehensive account invaluable both to the clinical neurologist and neuroscience researcher.