New onset seizures in HIV-infected patients without intracranial mass lesions or meningitis--a clinical, radiological and SPECT scan study.

Fifteen HIV-infected patients who presented with new onset seizures (NOS) as the sole neurological manifestation, in whom no cause for the seizure was identifiable, were studied. The patients were mainly female with an average age of 31.3 years. They had generalised new onset seizures with a latency of 1.6 months between the discovery of the HIV positivity and the onset of the seizure. The neurological examinations were normal with no dementia. The electroencephalographic examinations were either normal or there was a generalised epileptic disturbance (GED). The patients have AIDS defining CD4+ T lymphocyte cell counts. There was a high prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) or multiple non-neurological illnesses in our study group. They have normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis except for the presence of the HIV virus. All the patients have normal computerised tomogram (CT)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain. All the patients studied have abnormal right or left temporal lobe perfusion defects on the SPECT scan studies of the brain. The findings suggest that the new onset seizures in the HIV-infected patients are associated with direct HIV infection. The SPECT scan findings suggest that the HIV virus induce a focal metabolic abnormality or encephalopathy. The new onset seizure is then the manifestation of this abnormality.