AIDS-dementia complex (ADC), type of dementia that occurs in 10 to 15% of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The condition is characterized by memory loss and by varying levels and forms of dementia. It may be caused by the destruction of brain neurons by the human immunodeficiency virus as autopsies indicate that the density of the neurons may be 40% lower in patients with AIDS than in healthy persons. Also called AIDS-related dementia.
