Irit Ben-Nissan of the University of New South Wales, Australia will explore the personal meanings of AIDS Dementia Complex (ADC) in Session D44 today.

"Within the AIDS community, as well as the public at large, ADC is perceived as a violation of the mind by the virus," she says. "What I want to do with this study is to demystify what it's like living with ADC, and to help people find appropriate ways of dealing with it."

Ben Nissan says people with ADC work hard to maintain an air of normality, to avoid being marginalised by the HIV community, the gay community, and society at large. One physician informed a participant in Ben-Nissan's study that "his brain was rotting," she recalls. "The virus attacks more than just the brain. It attacks the essence of one's being."

One study participant told Ben-Nissan, "I need to come across well. Otherwise, people won't speak to me, because they just don't understand. It takes a lot of effort to come across normal, but what can I do? I know I have ADC, I know what it has done to me, but I won't let it take away my life."

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