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Case Reports
. 2015 Jan;28(1):25-8.
doi: 10.1080/08998280.2015.11929176.

Ascending paralysis associated with HIV infection

Aasim Afzal  1 , Mina Benjamin  1 , Kyle L Gummelt  1 , Sadaf Afzal  1 , Sadat Shamim  1 , Marc Tribble  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Ascending paralysis associated with HIV infection

Aasim Afzal et al. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2015 Jan.

Abstract

We present two patients with a high viral load of HIV-1 who developed symptoms of ascending paralysis leading to respiratory failure and autonomic instability. One patient had symptom improvement with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and a subsequent decrease in viral load. The other patient improved with intravenous immunoglobulin therapy and did not show much improvement on HAART alone. There are several proposed mechanisms for peripheral neuropathies seen in HIV-infected patients, including a direct action of HIV on the nerve by neurotropic strains or formation of autoantibodies against nerve elements. The comparison of the response to different therapies in these two cases highlights the importance of understanding different pathophysiologies, as the treatment modality may differ.

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