HIV encephalopathy presenting as schizophrenia-like delusions during highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) case report

Mikako Fuji¹, Misaki Iseki², Seisho Takeuchi³, Kyoko Kakeda¹, Shinji Shimodera¹, Hiromi Seo³, Shimpei Inoue¹

¹Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan.
²Department of Psychiatry, Ichiyou Hospital, Kochi, Japan.
³Department of Medicine, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ojpsych.2011.13020                

Abstract

After HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy), which is a powerful antiviral drug regimen, was introduced into HIV therapy for AIDS patients, AIDS mortality decreased dramatically. The incidence of encephalopathy among AIDS patients was reported to be 10% to 40% in the past, but the introduction of HAART resulted in a decrease in HIV encephalopathy and an increase in mild CNS-related deficits, which affect the quality of life of AIDS patients. We report the case of an AIDS patient who developed schizophrenia-like delusions associated with encephalopathy. Administration of an antipsychotic drug and hypnotics was effective in relieving the symptoms of patients with insomnia, depressed mood, and delusions. Further information on the neuronal mechanism underlying the mental symptoms observed in our patient will be necessary to understand the process of pathogenesis of the encephalopathy and to devise an adequate clinical strategy for treatment.

Keywords

HIV; Encephalopathy; Schizophrenia; HAART; Antipsychotics

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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