Asymptomatic HIV vertical transmitted adolescents' brain functional changes: based on resting state functional MRI.

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2018 May 08;:

Authors: Wang P, Li J, Wang X, Wu GY, Thapa D

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Perinatal HIV-infected (PHIV+) adolescents survive longer with the use of readily found combination antiretroviral therapy（cART）, however, they still have the risk of developing cognitive deficits. The paper aims to explore the brain functional changes in asymptomatic PHIV+ adolescents with cART based on the resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: rs-fMRI was performed on 20 PHIV+ adolescents and 28 PHIV- controls to evaluate the regional homogeneity (ReHo) in different brain regions by calculating the Kendall harmonious coefficient（KCC）. Montreal cognitive assessment（MoCA）and laboratory studies (nadir CD4+ T-cell counts) were also performed on all the subjects to evaluate their cognitive and immune status.
RESULTS: 13 PHIV+ adolescents and 22 PHIV- controls were enrolled. There was a significant difference of ReHo values in PHIV+ adolescents compared to PHIV- controls, the areas with increased ReHo values include bilateral precentral/postcentral gyrus and right middle temporal pole. And the areas with decreased ReHo values locate in right putamen/pallidum/insula, left caudate/putamen/insula, right superior temporal pole/insula, right caudate/putamen, bilateral anterior cingulate cortex and left inferior temporal pole. Furthermore, age, cognitive scores and laboratory studies (nadir CD4+ T-cell counts) did not show any significant correlation with altered ReHo values of brain regions neither in PHIV+ groups nor in PHIV- control groups.
CONCLUSION: Among PHIV+ adolescents, brain areas with increased ReHo values were mainly located in the central somatic motor-sensory cortex, that might be related to the compensatory mechanism. Whereas, brain areas with decreased ReHo values were mainly focused on cortico-striatal pathway, that might be associated with abnormal dopamine consumption. Thus, rs-fMRI could demonstrate the brain functional changes in resting-state of the asymptomatic PHIV+ adolescents.

PMID: 29737186 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]