The correlation between neuropsychological and neuroanatomic changes over time in asymptomatic and symptomatic HIV-1-infected individuals.

To determine the relationship between neuroanatomic and neuropsychological changes in both asymptomatic and symptomatic HIV-1-infected individuals, we conducted a longitudinal study of 47 HIV-infected individuals, 15 of whom were asymptomatic and 32 of whom had either AIDS-related complex or AIDS. To measure neuroanatomic change over a 30-month period, we conducted quantitative MRI measures of bicaudate/brain ratio (BCR) and bifrontal/ brain ratio. A comparison of change over time between BCR and neuropsychological performance showed a correlation between increase in atrophy and worsening in certain cognitive functions. The correlation held for both asymptomatic and symptomatic groups, with more pronounced changes in the symptomatic group.