Bulletin of Experimental Treatments for AIDS, Winter 2002<\/p>\n
Liz Highleyman<\/p>\n
Of the many symptoms associated with HIV\/AIDS and its treatment, peripheral neuropathy (PN) can be among the most painful and debilitating. The most common estimate is that about one-third of people with AIDS experience some degree of nerve damage. However, PN usually occurs in the later stages of HIV disease, and many people experience mild or no symptoms.<\/p>\n
Nerve damage may be caused by HIV itself, by opportunistic infections (OIs) such as cytomegalovirus (CMV), or as a side effect of certain anti-HIV drugs, notably ddI (Videx), ddC (Hivid), and d4T (Zerit). In people with HIV\/AIDS, PN most often affects the feet, the lower legs, and later the hands, causing numbness, tingling, and\/or pain. Fortunately, there are medical treatments and other measures people with HIV\/AIDS can take to ameliorate neuropathy symptoms and improve their quality of life.<\/p>\n