Increased cerebrospinal fluid protein tau concentration in neuro-AIDS

Objectives: Assessment of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of protein tau in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. Material and methods: CSF tau levels were analyzed in 52 HIV-1-infected patients, 37 of whom had no neurological symptoms, eight had aquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) dementia complex (ADC), and seven had AIDS with other neurological complications. Results: A significantly higher mean CSF tau concentration was found in patients with ADC (380 pg/ml) compared with patients with neuroasymptomatic HIV-1 infection (120 pg/ml, P < 0.01) and HIV-negative controls (150 pg/ml, P < 0.05). No difference in CSF tau levels was found between patients with ADC and patients with AIDS with other neurological complications. Conclusion: CSF tau might be used as a biochemical marker for axonal degeneration and might be of use to identify HIV-1-infected patients with ADC and other neurological complications, but it cannot discriminate between ADC and other neurological complications in HIV-1-infection. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.