“Early in the epidemic, one of the most terrifying consequences of late-stage, AIDS-related illness was the various neurocognitive disorders, the worst of which was dementia. At that time, with no effective antiretroviral therapies, the virus quickly penetrated the blood-brain barrier. AIDS dementia complex, along with early opportunistic infections (OI) such as Kaposi sarcoma and Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), typically occurred when a person’s CD4 count fell below 200, but it was the result of the virus itself, not an OI. Individuals who experienced this severe dementia declined rapidly and tragically.”
For more, click here.