Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO 63121, USA.
J Neurovirol. 2012 Jun;18(3):151-6. doi: 10.1007/s13365-012-0090-5. Epub 2012 Apr 12.
Previous studies have reported cognitive deficits among HIV-positive individuals infected with clade C virus. However, no study has examined whether individuals predominately infected with clade C virus exhibit brain atrophy relative to healthy controls. This study examined volumetric differences between 28 HIV+ individuals and 23 HIV- controls from South Africa. Volumetric measures were obtained from six regions of interest -- caudate, thalamus, corpus callosum, total cortex, total gray matter, and total white matter. HIV+ participants had significantly lower volumes in the total white matter (p<0.01), thalamus (p<0.01) and total gray matter (inclusive of cortical and subcortical regions, p<0.01). This study is the first to provide evidence of brain atrophy among HIV+ individuals in South Africa, where HIV clade C predominates. Additional research that integrates neuroimaging, comprehensive neuropsychological testing, genetic variance in clade-specific proteins, and the impact of treatment with Antiretrovirals (ARV) are necessary to understand the development of HIV-related neurocognitive disorders in South Africa.
先前的研究报告称，感染 C 型 HIV 的个体存在认知缺陷。然而，尚无研究检测过主要感染 C 型 HIV 的个体相对于健康对照组是否存在脑萎缩。本研究检测了来自南非的 28 名 HIV 阳性个体和 23 名 HIV 阴性对照者之间的容积差异。容积测量值取自 6 个感兴趣区——尾状核、丘脑、胼胝体、大脑皮层、总灰质和总白质。HIV 阳性参与者的总白质（p<0.01）、丘脑（p<0.01）和总灰质（包含皮质和皮质下区域，p<0.01）容积明显较低。本研究首次提供了在 HIV 流行的南非，HIV 感染个体脑萎缩的证据。有必要开展神经影像学、全面神经心理学测试、特定 HIV 型别蛋白的遗传差异以及抗逆转录病毒治疗（ARV）影响等方面的综合研究，以了解南非 HIV 相关神经认知障碍的发生机制。
