Mania occurs in higher rates among individuals with HIV/AIDS, especially with the progression of HIV infection, and constitutes an additional risk factor for facilitate the HIV spread.

To provide an overview of secondary mania in HIV-infected patients.

Literature review based on PubMed/Medline, using the keywords “HIV”, “AIDS” and “mania”.

Secondary mania or AIDS mania may be due to illicit or prescribed drugs, CNS infection with HIV, medical illness, including opportunistic infections. Of these, HIV neurotoxicity has been proposed to be the most important factor in its pathogenesis. Mania AIDS differs from primary mania with regard to clinical presentation, course, management and prognosis. The authors will analyze them. Besides decrease to treatment adherence, maniac symptoms also predispose to HIV risk behaviors, which may lead to further HIV transmission. Importantly, the occurrence of HIV mania may announce the transition from HIV infection to AIDS perhaps before other clinical signs are evident. Early recognition and treatment of manic symptoms with mood stabilisers, antipsychotics and HAART improve quality of life, protect from further cognitive deterioration and decrease mortality. In these patients, medication side-effects toxicity, drug interactions, and adherence require special attention.

Mania has been associated with HIV/AIDS and in many instances acts as a barrier to achieving best treatment outcomes. Thus, psychiatrists need to be aware of the complexities involved in the emergence of manic episodes in HIV-infected patients in order to deal with them in the most appropriate and effective manner.