Continuation of the Edinburgh HIV Brain & Tissue Resource

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The Edinburgh HIV Brain Bank represents a truly unique resource for research on the effects of HIV in the brain. It comprises brain and non-brain tissue samples from untreated, partially treated (Zidovudine, AZT and Didanosine, DDI) and well treated (triple therapy, HAART) HIV infected individuals, as well as from pre-AIDS individuals and age matched controls. Mortality from HIV/AIDS has fallen dramatically since the advent of HAART and most HIV-related deaths are now due to hepatitis or to drug overdose. HIV-associated dementia, HIV encephalitis and opportunistic infections are now rare but more subtle cognitive impairment remains a significant problem. We and others have recently described unexpected neuropathology findings in post-HAART cases, including levels of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration which in some cases exceed those seen in HIV encephalitis cases. This raises concerns for the future brain health in similar individuals. Technological developments such as tissue microarray, single cell laser capture and proteomics permit novel experimental investigation of archival brain tissue samples. These two factors have lead to an increase in requests to the Edinburgh brain bank. Maintenace of this unique collection of HIV tissue samples continues to be essential for ongoing research in this field.