Loading...
In a longitudinal study of 27 HIV-infected patients in Thailand, investigators examined whether virologic and immunological factors correlate with cognitive impairment before and after 48 weeks of first-time antiretroviral therapy (ART). A special feature was the monitoring of HIV DNA in the peripheral blood CD14+ monocytes (PBMCs), in addition to measurement of CD4 cells and plasma HIV RNA. The 12 patients with HIV-associated dementia and 15 HIV patients without dementia were matched for age, sex, and CD4-cell count. Most were treated with a combination of lamivudine, stavudine, and nevirapine.
Before initiation of ART, levels of PBMC HIV (proviral) DNA were higher in the subjects with HIV-associated dementia than in the nondemented patient…