THE EFFECTS OF AGE AND HIGHLY ACTIVE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY ON BRAIN FUNCTION

描述（由申请人提供）：由于高效抗逆转录病毒治疗（HAART），人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）感染患者的寿命更长。到2015年，50%以上的艾滋病毒感染者将超过50岁。然而，HAART并没有降低HIV感染患者神经系统疾病的患病率。老年艾滋病毒感染者患神经系统疾病的风险更大，对护理人员来说是一个沉重的负担。此外，关于HAART的总体疗效也存在争议，因为更好的脑穿透疗法（neuroHAART）可能会控制大脑中的病毒，但会导致神经毒性。目前对HIV引起的神经认知障碍的评估需要漫长的神经心理学测试，这可能对神经元功能障碍的早期迹象不敏感。当务之急是确定一种早期症状前生物标志物，以测试预防HIV感染患者发生神经认知障碍的干预措施。 一种有前途的新方法是静息状态脑功能连接的非侵入性神经成像。这项技术已经确定了默认模式网络-一系列涉及组织记忆和为未来事件做准备的大脑区域。我们的初步研究结果表明，HIV使该网络中大脑功能连接的完整性降低了40%。艾滋病毒还放大了衰老的影响，因为老年感染者的大脑网络连接相当于15 - 20岁的血清阴性受试者。我们假设，艾滋病毒引起的神经元连接的默认模式网络内的下降将之前的神经心理学测试的差异。该提案将：1）测量HIV对大脑功能连接的影响; 2）调查HIV是否加速大脑网络的老化; 3）评估neuroHAART对大脑连接的影响。这些结果将有助于护士和临床医生决定何时开始HAART，并帮助他们评估定制的连续性神经保护疗法的疗效。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients are now living longer due to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). More than 50% of all HIV infected patients will be > 50 years old by 2015. However, HAART has not decreased the prevalence of neurological disorders in HIV infected patients. Older HIV infected patients are at greater risk for developing neurological disorders and are a significant burden to caregivers. In addition, debate also exists concerning the overall efficacy of HAART as better brain penetrating regimens (neuroHAART) may control the virus in the brain but cause neurotoxicity. Current assessment of neurocognitive disorders due to HIV entails lengthy neuropsychological testing which may not be sensitive to early signs of neuronal dysfunction. It is imperative that an early presymptomatic biomarker is identified to test interventions that prevent HIV infected patients from developing neurocognitive impairment. One promising new approach is non-invasive neuroimaging of resting state brain functional connections. This technique has identified the default mode network- a series of brain areas involved in organizing memories and preparing for the future events. Our preliminary results demonstrate that HIV diminishes the integrity of brain functional connections within this network by 40%. HIV also amplifies the effects of aging as older infected patients have brain network connections equivalent to seronegative subjects who are 15-20 years older. We hypothesize that HIV-induced decreases in neuronal connectivity within the default mode network will precede neuropsychological testing differences. The proposal will: 1) measure the effects of HIV on brain functional connections; 2) investigate if HIV accelerates aging of brain networks; 3) evaluate the effects of neuroHAART on brain connections. These results will assist nurses and clinicians in deciding when to initiate HAART and help them evaluate the efficacy of tailored adjunctive neuroprotective therapies.