Hallazgos neuropatológicos de la infección por VIH-SIDA: estudio de autopsias en el Hospital Universitario de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia

objective: to describe the macroscopic and microscopic alterations observed in the central nervous system (cns) in patients who died through hiv-aids infection. method used: retrospective study of autopsies from january 1st 2004 to december 31st 2007 in a third-level public hospital at bucaramanga, santander. results: the most common neuro-pathological findings in patients who died through hiv-aids infection were cerebral toxoplasmosis, 17 cases (28.3%); followed by cerebral cryptococcosis, 7 cases (11.6%); cns tuberculosis, 3 cases (5%); hiv encephalitis, 2 cases (3.3%); and bacterial meningitis, 1 case (1.6%). neoplasm lesions, cmv infection, herpes infection, histoplasmosis, and progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (pml) were not found in any case. in this study, changes were seen in the cns in 32 cases (53.1%), which after the respiratory system (39-65%) was the most affected system for complications related to hiv infection. hiv-induced encephalopathy simultaneously with an opportunistic infection was only found in 1 case (1.6 %). conclusion: in bucaramanga, opportunistic infections are the most frequent and serious complications in the cns of individuals with hiv-aids; among them cerebral toxoplasmosis was the most frequently observed complication in the cns of patients with hiv-aids, appearing morphologically as a meningoencephalitis with necrosis and large lesions localized in the gangliobasal region.