Cognitive impairment in a 35 years-old male

Abstract

Cognitive impairment is a syndrome with multiple causes, presenting frequently neuropsychiatric symptoms.In these cases, the psychiatrist role is essential, including both diagnosis and therapy.

HIV-associated dementia usually includes psychiatric symptoms, even in the absence of neurological symptoms in initial stages. Moreover, the prolonged life span of patients with HIV leaves the possibility that prevalence or HIVassociated neurologic disease increases in coming years.

We report a case of a HIV male with insidious cognitive impairment, making diagnosis difficult due to ambiguous symptoms.The patient begins with depressive symptoms and sligthtly develops cognitive impairment.

The presence of cognitive impairment in a young person must alert us think about HIV pathology, because it is one of the leading causes of dementia in the young.