| Title |
Brain viral burden, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in HAART-treated HIV positive injecting drug users
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Journal of NeuroVirology, January 2014
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s13365-013-0225-3 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Donald B. Smith, Peter Simmonds, Jeanne E. Bell |
| Abstract |
The long-term impact of chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on brain status in injecting drug users (IDU) treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is unknown. Viral persistence in the brain with ongoing neuroinflammation may predispose to Alzheimer-like neurodegeneration. In this study, we investigated the brains of ten HAART-treated individuals (six IDU and four non-DU), compared with ten HIV negative controls (six IDU and four non-DU). HIV DNA levels in brain tissue were correlated with plasma and lymphoid tissue viral loads, cognitive status, microglial activation and Tau protein and amyloid deposition. Brain HIV proviral DNA levels were low in most cases but higher in HIV encephalitis (n = 2) and correlated significantly with levels in lymphoid tissue (p = 0.0075), but not with those in plasma. HIV positive subjects expressed more Tau protein and amyloid than HIV negative controls (highest in a 58 year old), as did IDU, but brain viral loads showed no relation to Tau and amyloid. Microglial activation linked significantly to HIV positivity (p = 0.001) and opiate abuse accentuated these microglial changes (p = 0.05). This study confirms that HIV DNA persists in brains despite HAART and that opiate abuse adds to the risk of brain damage in HIV positive subjects. Novel findings in this study show that (1) plasma levels are not a good surrogate indicator of brain status, (2) viral burden in brain and lymphoid tissues is related, and (3) while Tau and amyloid deposition is increased in HIV positive IDU, this is not specifically related to increased HIV burden within the brain. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 3 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 33% |
| Ireland | 1 | 33% |
| Unknown | 1 | 33% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 1 | 33% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 33% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 33% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 39 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 1 | 3% |
| Greece | 1 | 3% |
| Unknown | 37 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 6 | 15% |
| Student > Master | 5 | 13% |
| Student > Bachelor | 4 | 10% |
| Researcher | 4 | 10% |
| Professor > Associate Professor | 3 | 8% |
| Other | 8 | 21% |
| Unknown | 9 | 23% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 10 | 26% |
| Neuroscience | 6 | 15% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 5 | 13% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 2 | 5% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 4 | 10% |
| Unknown | 11 | 28% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 16 January 2014.
All research outputs
#14,771,194
of 22,739,983 outputs
Outputs from Journal of NeuroVirology
#489
of 925 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#183,297
of 306,547 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of NeuroVirology
#4
of 20 outputs
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So far Altmetric has tracked 925 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 4.2. This one is in the 44th percentile – i.e., 44% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
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