Microbiological diagnosis of nervous system infection by cytomegalovirus in AIDS patients : case study and review

The presence of the early structural protein PP65 in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) was determined in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leucocytes of an AIDS patient with symptoms of polyradiculopathy (PR) and encephalitis. The findings suggest that active HCMV infection may be associated with PR in AIDS patients even when there is no evidence of HCMV disease at other anatomical sites. The detection of the HCMV-matrix PP65 antigen in the blood and CSF leucocytes may constitute a rapid and simple tool for selecting PR patients for antiviral therapy.