The cognitive and motor development of 126 infants born to nondrug-using.HIV-seropositive Haitian women, assessed at 3-month intervals from birth to 24 months, is reported from the University of Miami School of Medicine, FL. By 18 months of age, 28 were HIV-infected, and these infants were compared to 98 uninfected infants used as controls. The mean mental and motor scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development were significantly lower for infected compared to uninfected controls. Initial differences between the two groups, noted at 3 months, increased over time. Cognitive development was within normal levels in one third of infected infants, despite low mean scores for the group, and motor development was normal in one half. [1]

COMMENT. Infants perinatally infected with HIV are at risk of cognitive and motor delays in the first two years of life. Visual-motor integration, processing speed, verbal memory, and other neuropsychological measures, not tested in infants and toddlers, may be uncovered at later follow-up.

Cytomegalovirus encephalitis with AIDS has been studied in 7 adults treated at the Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago [2]. Retrospective series showed a poor prognosis with rapid mortality, whereas 4 of the 7 patients diagnosed and treated responded to therapy. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of cytomegalovirus DNA allowed detection in CSF, specific for CNS infection.