Researchers find a potential signature of cognitive function in people living with HIV
Reliable biomarkers such as that identified by the researchers offer insight into how HIV-associated cognitive impairment develops but also promises improved diagnostic testing and improved treatment decisions. The findings are published in the scientific journal Nature Scientific Reports (September 2016) by UH Mānoa scientists Lishomwa Ndhlovu, MD, PhD, and Alika Maunakea, PhD, at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) and collaborators at UHM and the University of California San Francisco. "These results offer the first significant window into the mechanisms driving HIV-related brain damage and how to track the disease," said Dr. Ndhlovu, Associate Professor in JABSOM's Department of Tropical Medicine. Combination antiretroviral therapies have improved HIV survival. If started early and taken daily for life, antiretroviral therapies can result in fewer non-AIDS related complications. However, HIV still impacts the brain. Around 40% of individuals even...