My brother was just diagnosed yesterday with HIV. He had been getting sick the last couple of months and sleeping all the time. Well a couple weeks ago he started acting really weird like he didnt understand any of us. Well last week he declined even farther cannot hold a cup or walk or use the restroom. We had take him to the hospital many many times and finally got them to admit him 3 days ago. The doctor said the reason he doesnt know whats going on and is checked out mentally is from an infection in his brain caused by having HIV. My question is will he recover mentally will we be able to talk with him one day?? Does this mean the HIV is more advanced than we thought? He does not even know his birthday! There not telling us much about the future and it scares me so much.

The chances for recovery in a situation such as you describe for your brother vary widely depending on the clinical situation and where your are located (and what resources/drugs) are available. In the US, many situations such as your brothers can turn out OK with good treatment (often for both a brain problem and the HIV) and some good fortune. The case of his weakness, brain problems could be HIV itself or an underlying infection (such as PML or toxoplasmosis) or a tumer (such as a lymphoma). Treatments and outcomes can vary greatly. I hope your brother has access to a good HIV doctor with good resources in order to maximize his changes for a good recovery. KH