Machine learning prediction of neurocognitive impairment among people with HIV using clinical and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging data
AbstractDiagnosis of HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment (NCI) continues to be a clinical challenge. The purpose of this study was to develop a prediction model for NCI among people with HIV using clinical- and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived features. The sample included 101 adults with chronic HIV disease. NCI was determined using a standardized neuropsychological testing battery comprised of seven domains. MRI features included gray matter volume from high-resolution anatomical scans and white matter integrity from diffusion-weighted imaging. Clinical features included demographics, substance use, and rout...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 19, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
HIV-1C and HIV-1B Tat protein polymorphism in Southern Brazil
This study was the first to investigate the genetic diversity and point mutations within HIV-1 Tat C in a Brazilian cohort. This was an observational, cross-sectional study, which included sequences of HIV-1B (n = 20) and HIV-1C (n = 21) from Southern Brazil. Additionally, 344 HIV-1C sequences were obtained from the Los Alamos database: 29 from Brazil and 315 from Africa, Asia, and Europe. The frequency of C31S substitution on HIV-1 Tat C in Brazil was 82% vs. 10% in the HIV-1B group (p <  0.0001). The frequency of the R57S substitution among the HIV-1C sequences from Brazil was 74% vs. 20% in HIV-1B (p =â...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 18, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Viral protein R polymorphisms in the pathogenesis of HIV-associated acute ischaemic stroke: a case –control study
AbstractHIV-1 viral proteins have been implicated in endothelial dysfunction, which is a major determinant of ischaemic stroke risk in HIV-infected individuals. Polymorphisms in HIV-1 viral protein R (Vpr) may alter its potential to promote endothelial dysfunction, by modifying its effects on viral replication, reactivation of latent cells, upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and infection of macrophages. We analysed Vpr polymorphisms and their association with acute ischaemic stroke by comparing Vpr signature amino acids between 54 HIV-infected individuals with acute ischaemic stroke, and 80 age-matched HIV-infecte...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 18, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Tryptophan depletion predicts lower positive affect in sexual minority men living with HIV who use methamphetamine
AbstractThis longitudinal study with 76 sexual minority men living with HIV who use methamphetamine examined whether dysregulation of essential amino acid precursors for neurotransmitters at baseline predicted positive and negative affect at 15  months. After controlling for covariates including baseline positive affect, a higher baseline kynurenine/tryptophan (K/T) ratio independently predicted lower positive affect at 15 months (β = − 18.31; 95% CI = − 35.35, − 1.27;p = 0.036). Future clinical research should examine whether bio-behavioral interventions targeting tryptophan degradation could optim...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 18, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Magnetic resonance imaging features of COVID-19-related cranial nerve lesions
AbstractThe complete features of the neurological complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still need to be elucidated, including associated cranial nerve involvement. In the present study we describe cranial nerve lesions seen in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of six cases of confirmed COVID-19, involving the olfactory bulb, optic nerve, abducens nerve, and facial nerve. Cranial nerve involvement was associated with COVID-19, but whether by direct viral invasion or autoimmunity needs to be clarified. The development of neurological symptoms after initial respiratory symptoms and the absence of the virus in t...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 18, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Low levels of frailty in HIV-positive older adults on antiretroviral therapy in northern Tanzania
AbstractThere are over 3 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) aged 50 and over living with HIV. HIV and combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) exposure may accelerate the ageing in this population, and thus increase the prevalence of premature frailty. There is a paucity of data on the prevalence of frailty in an older HIV  + population in SSA and screening and diagnostic tools to identify frailty in SSA. Patients aged ≥ 50 were recruited from a free Government HIV clinic in Tanzania. Frailty assessments were completed, using 3 diagnostic and screening tools: the Fried frailty phenotype (FFP), Clinical Frai...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 11, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Neurological features and outcome in COVID-19: dementia can predict severe disease
AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has infected more than 22 million people worldwide. Although much has been learned about COVID-19, we do not know much about its neurological features and their outcome. This observational study was conducted on the patients of Imam Hossein Hospital, and 361 adult patients (214 males) with confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 from March 5, 2020 to April 3, 2020, were enrolled. Data was gathered on age, sex, comorbidities, initial symptoms, symptoms during the disease course, neurological symptoms, and outcome. The mean age of the patients was 61.90  ± 16.76 years. The most common initial sympto...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 8, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Transcriptional signatures of Zika virus infection in astrocytes
AbstractAstrocytes are an early and important target of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in the developing brain, but the impacts of infection on astrocyte function remain controversial. Given that nonhuman primate (NHP) models of ZIKV infection replicate aspects of neurologic disease seen in human infections, we cultured primary astrocytes from the brain tissue of infant rhesus macaques and then infected the cells with Asian or African lineage ZIKV to identify transcriptional patterns associated with infection in these cells. The African lineage virus appeared to have greater infectivity and promote stronger antiviral signalin...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 6, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
How microcompetition with latent viruses can cause α synuclein aggregation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and eventually Parkinson’s disease
AbstractThe cause of most Parkinson ’s disease cases is unknown. However, it is well documented that mitochondrial dysfunction and misfoldedα synuclein aggregation are important cellular abnormalities associated with the disease. In this paper, we use the microcompetition model to show how latent viruses, which infect the central and peripheral nervous systems, can cause the observed mitochondrial dysfunction and excessα synuclein aggregation, and eventually, Parkinson ’s disease. (Source: Journal of NeuroVirology)
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 6, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Pre-clinical atherosclerosis is found at post-mortem, in the brains of men with HIV
AbstractThe aim of this study is to ascertain the burden of pre-clinical atherosclerotic
changes in the brains of young adult males with HIV and explore the impact of
anti-retroviral therapy (ART). The study design is case-control, cross-sectional. Histological sections from HIV-positive
post-mortem brain samples, with no associated opportunistic infection, from the
MRC Edinburgh brain bank were evaluated. These were age and sex matched with HIV-negative
controls. Immunohistochemical stains were performed to evaluate characteristics
of atherosclerosis. The pathological changes were graded blinded to the H...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 6, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Identification of dysregulated pathways underlying HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis through co-expression network analysis
AbstractHuman T cell lymphotropic virus-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is a pathogen-caused disease which is associated with the progressive neurological disorder. HAM/TSP affects the expression level of several proteins and dysregulates some biological pathways. To identify the interaction patterns among expressed genes in HAM/TSP patients, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was applied. Three microarray datasets regarding HAM/TSP were merged, and the co-expression network was constructed among genes. A total of 38 modules were identified. Three preserved modules in HAM/TS...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 6, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Pain, psychoaffective symptoms, and quality of life in human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1): a cross-sectional study
The objective of this study is to describe the chronic pain characteristics in individuals infected with human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) per subgroup (asymptomatic, oligosymptomatic, and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP)) compared with controls with chronic pain without HTLV-1. This is a cross-sectional study investigating associations between pain profile, psychopathological symptoms, and quality of life. Individuals infected with HTLV-1 refer high-intensity pain compared with controls, with more severe characteristics being present in oligosymptomatic and HAM/TSP individu...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 6, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Chronically elevated depressive symptoms interact with acute increases in inflammation to predict worse neurocognition among people with HIV
We examined the joint effects of depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)) and systemic inflammation (plasma C-reactive protein (CRP)) on longitudinal profiles of neurocognition in a cohort of 143 people with HIV (PWH) on antiretroviral therapy. Global neurocognition, processing speed, motor skills, and attention/working memory all worsened as CRP increased but only among PWH who, on average, exhibited moderate to severe depressive symptoms (BDI-II Â > Â 22). Findings suggest that some PWH with chronically elevated depressive symptoms may have an inflammatory subtype of depression and a particular vuln...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 6, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Brain tissue transcriptomic analysis of SIV-infected macaques identifies several altered metabolic pathways linked to neuropathogenesis and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) as potential therapeutic targets
AbstractDespite improvements in antiretroviral therapy, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) remain prevalent in subjects undergoing therapy. HAND significantly affects individuals ’ quality of life, as well as adherence to therapy, and, despite the increasing understanding of neuropathogenesis, no definitive diagnostic or prognostic marker has been identified. We investigated transcriptomic profiles in frontal cortex tissues of Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected R hesus macaques sacrificed at different stages of infection. Gene expression was compared among SIV...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 6, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
Predictive factors of human cytomegalovirus reactivation in newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients treated with chemoradiotherapy
AbstractThe human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous herpes virus which infects 40 to 99% of the population. HCMV reactivation may occur in the context of immunosuppression and can induce significant morbidities. Several cases of HCMV infections or HCMV reactivation have thus been reported in glioblastoma (GBM) patients treated with radio(chemo)therapy. With the aim to identify the main risk factors associated with HCMV reactivation, we reviewed all patients treated for a newly diagnosed GBM in our institution from October 2013 to December 2015. Age, sex, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), absolute lymphocyte count (A...
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - January 6, 2021 Category: Neurology Source Type: research
