Half of People with HIV Could Develop Alzheimer's

[left-of-center2012]

Cognitive problems are common in people living with HIV, and aging amplifies memory problems.

Not only do about half of people living with HIV suffer from memory dysfunction, but it worsens with age, a new animal study suggests. Disabilities like dementia or Alzheimer’s affect more than just the elderly.

The medical community is well aware of cognitive dysfunction in people living with HIV. HIV-associated dementia, delirium and memory loss are a consequence of HIV-1’s effect on the central nervous system. HIV replicates in the brain and antiretrovirals can slow the process — but they only help so much. One of the problems of controlling HIV in the brain is finding ways to cross the blood-brain barrier.

“An experimental model of HIV infection in mice, developed by Mount Sinai researchers, has shown that HIV causes learning and memory dysfunction, a cognitive disease that is now observed in about half of HIV infected people that worsens with age, and is currently incurable,” researchers wrote in a June 7 press release.

The findings could be used to develop and test new drugs against HIV infection, such as zeroing in on reservoirs of the virus, and develop drugs directed specifically to restore healthy brain function that has been damaged by HIV infection, while patients simultaneously continue on antiretroviral therapy.

[greymattermom]

1. I'm a retired neuroscientist who used to work in both neuroAIDS and brain aging.

My guess is chronic brain inflammation from viral reservoirs in the brain. Brain inflammation naturally increases with aging and contributes to all of the brain disorders of aging, including Alzheimer's disease. HIV reservoirs and possibly the drugs themselves make that worse.

[MuseRider]

2. I did not know

you were a retired neuroscientist! That is awesome.

I have nothing really to add to this except that it is so sad that those who have had to fight HIV/AIDS already have this to worry about later.

I do remember fiercely what end stage AIDS did to my brother and his brain. It was extremely painful to watch and deal with and so hard to help him work his way out of it daily so that he was comfortable. For him it was not the drugs. He did not get any drugs until it was far too late for him to recover. We tried after he decided to use them, he wanted to then but what happened to his brain was before he had any of the drugs used at that time. I am assuming the drugs are as bad or worse or additive to what is normally done to the brain.