Abstract
Focal affections of the CNS are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected patients. HIV infection is rarely considered in patients with focal CNS symptomatology in the Czech Republic, a setting with low prevalence of HIV positivity.
Nevertheless, delay in establishing a correct diagnosis has a negative influence on the patient's prognosis and puts health-care workers at risk of infection. The most important causes of focal CNS affections in HIV-positive patients are: brain toxoplasmosis, primary CNS lymphoma, and progressive multifocal leuko-encephalopathy.
The aetiology of other focal CNS affections in HIV-positive persons is similar to the situation in the normal population, but the incidence of these CNS affections in HIV-positive patients tends to be higher. A possible connection with HIV infection should be always taken in account, in order to establish a correct diagnosis as soon as possible, when the therapy can be most effective