Results from a recent study indicate that older HIV-positive individuals have a higher level of a particular type of brain impairment called dispersion, which causes inconsistent cognitive function, compared to HIV-negative individuals of a similar age and younger HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals.

The authors hypothesized that the problems are due to accelerated aging in the HIV-positive population, which has been observed in other studies.

“These findings suggest that individuals infected with HIV who are 50 years of age or older may experience a type of cognitive problem that uninfected individuals…

Results from a recent small study suggest that a variant of HIV that infects a slow-growing type of cell, called a macrophage, in the fluid surrounding the spine and brain of some people with HIV may be linked to HIV-associated dementia.

The results might help explain why highly active antiretroviral therapy is not always effective in treating some HIV-associated neurological problems, since these cells live longer than the more typical immune cells infected by HIV. The results also might allow physicians to predict who is at greatest risk for HIV-associated…

Results from a recent study indicate that the lowest CD4 count measured after HIV infection, called the nadir CD4 count, is a predictor of brain impairment in people with HIV. In particular, lower nadir CD4 counts were associated with increased likelihood of cognitive impairment.

“The study findings suggest that initiating antiretroviral therapy as soon as possible will reduce subsequent risk of HIV neurocognitive impairment,” said Dr. Ronald Ellis, a professor of neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego and lead author of the study.

“In the future, we hope…

Results from a recent study indicate that brain disorders, particularly epilepsy and seizures, are more common in HIV-positive patients with hepatitis C virus than in patients with HIV alone.  The risk of death was also higher for these individuals.

However, the researchers noted that the use of illegal drugs, which was more common in participants with hepatitis C and is linked to increased seizure risk, could have affected the study results. They suggested that studies of patients with hepatitis C only and hepatitis C patients without past illegal drug use…

Results from a recent Italian study indicate that there has been a decrease in the number of HIV-positive individuals with HIV-associated neurological disorders in the last 15 years, which the researchers described as small but significant. They attributed the decrease to the protective effects of antiretroviral therapy.

Additionally, the authors of the study observed that older age, low CD4 (white blood cell) counts, advanced HIV infections, and less education were associated with a higher risk of HIV-associated neurological disorders.

“Cognitive impairment persists in the HAART [highly active antiretroviral therapy] era.…