AAEM minimonograph #41: Neuromuscular diseases associated with HIV‐1 infection

Neuromuscular diseases occur in as many as 50% of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1). All forms of neuromuscular disease have been reported, including axonal neuropathy, demyelinating neuropathy, mononeuropathy multiplex, polyradiculitis, ALS‐like syndromes, disorders of neuromuscular transmission, myopathy, and toxic neuropathies due to medication side effects. Neuromuscular disease is often the presenting manifestation of HIV‐1 infection. Infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) is associated with different types of neuropathy including mononeuritis multiplex and polyradiculopathy. There is effective treatment for many of the associated disorders including chronic inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy, CMV‐mediated neuropathies, and myopathy. Treatment of CMV‐mediated mononeuropathy multiplex may be life saving. The different neuromuscular syndromes associated with different stages of HIV‐1 infection may be due, in part, to different levels of immunocompetence.