What are the most common causes of vision loss affecting patients with AIDS?
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, a member of the herpes virus family, produces an infection of the retina in immunocompromised individuals. CMV causes visual loss in several ways: • It attacks the retinal tissue directly, destroying the cells necessary for responding to visual stimuli. • Patients with CMV infection are more prone to complicated retinal detachments, which are often difficult to repair. • After retinal detachment repair, cataracts can develop, another cause of vision loss in patients with CMV. Infections in the brains of patients with AIDS, such as toxoplasmosis and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), can cause disruption of central nervous system visual pathways and can produce abnormalities in the visual field. Patients with these problems often complain of bumping into things or unexplained difficulty reading. Q: Do all patients with AIDS experience vision loss? A: No. In the early 1980s there were no effective treatments for CMV retinitis, and these ind
