The role of HIV infection of astrocytes in the development of HIV associated dementia

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Dementia is an extremely common problem in the late stages of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. HIV-associated dementia is the most common cause of dementia in people under 40 years of age. Despite the development of very good drugs to attack the virus, HIV-associaed dementia continues to be a major clinical problem. We are looking at the reasons why some people infected with HIV become demented and others do not. We are also looking at how best to prevent the development of dementia. We believe that astrocytes (an important brain cell that supports neurons) play a very important role in the development of HIV-associated dementia. With an improved understanding of the steps leading to dementia we can better plan treatments to prevent the development of this devastating complication of HIV-AIDS.