Resistant Tremors and Unexplained Weight Loss Could Also Be a Sign of HIV

Mohammed Hamdy Ibrahim¹, Shivram Kumar², Janhavi Sirsat², Mohamed Khalid³, Kiran Kumar³

¹Department of Neurology, GMC Hospital, Ajman, UAE.
²Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE.
³Department of Internal Medicine, GMC Hospital, Ajman, UAE.

DOI: 10.4236/nm.2015.63014                

Abstract

This case study is done to show a different type of presentation of a HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) patient. Neurological symptoms in HIV are normally due to Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) which is a reactivated infection caused by John Cunningham virus (JC virus). The disease causes fatal demyelination of the central nervous system (CNS). This case presented a 51-year-old Nigerian man who complained of resistant tremors and unexplained weight loss. The patient was suspected to have HIV when a MRI scan revealed T2/FLAIR hyper intensity of white matter which was a sign of PML. HIV ELISA was done and came back with a positive result. PML presenting in the form of tremors is very rare and more research is required to focus on the neurological presentation of HIV.

Keywords

Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Tremors, Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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