Functional Connectivity in Virally Suppressed Patients with HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder: A Resting-State...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Infectious Diseases
• Radiology

Background:

• HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) persists despite effective combination antiretroviral therapy (cART).
• The underlying pathology of HAND in virally suppressed individuals remains unclear.
• Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) is a valuable tool for assessing neural network integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate resting-state functional brain connectivity in patients with active HAND despite viral suppression.
• To compare functional connectivity patterns between HAND patients and demographically matched controls.
• To explore the relationship between functional connectivity and neurocognitive deficits.

Main Methods:

• Eighteen patients diagnosed with active HAND and viral suppression (blood and CSF) were recruited.
• Nine demographically matched healthy controls were included for comparison.
• Resting-state fMRI was utilized to assess functional connectivity within six known neural networks.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in functional connectivity were observed between HAND patients and controls in the salience (P=.0123) and executive networks (P=.034).
• Covariate analysis revealed statistically significant correlations between neuropsychological scores and functional connectivity across all six networks.
• The salience network demonstrated the most pronounced correlation with cognitive performance.

Conclusions:

• Active HAND in virally suppressed individuals is characterized by diminished connectivity in the salience and executive networks.
• These connectivity alterations may serve as a potential imaging biomarker for HAND.
• Further research can elucidate the precise mechanisms driving these neurobiological changes.