Tissue loss follows T-cell loss, meaning that people with poor immune function also show severe brain damage. This was a revelation. We used to consider these separate phenomena, because HIV harms the brain and immune system in different ways. Now we see they are intrinsically linked.
We saw up to a 15-percent tissue loss in the brain centers that regulate motor skills, such as movement and coordination. This helps explain the slowed reflexes and disruption of balance and gait that often affect people with early AIDS.