UCSF

Background

The prevalence of neurocognitive deficits are reported to be high in HIV-1 positive patients, even with suppressive antiretroviral treatment, and it has been suggested that HIV can cause accelerated aging of the brain. In this study we measured phosphorylated tau (p-tau) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as a potential marker for premature central nervous system (CNS) aging. P-tau increases with normal aging but is not affected by HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders.

Methods

With a cross-sectional retrospective design, p-tau, total tau (t-tau), neopterin and HIV-RNA were measured in CSF together with plasma HIV-RNA and blood CD4⁺ T-cells of 225 HIV-infected patients <50 y of age, subdivided into 3 groups: untreated neuroasymptomatic (NA) (n = 145), on suppressive antiretroviral treatment (cART) (n = 49), and HIV-associated dementia (HAD) (n = 31). HIV-negative healthy subjects served as controls (n = 79).

Results

P-tau was not significantly higher in any HIV-infected group compared to HIV-negative controls. Significant increases in t-tau were found as expected in patients with HAD compared to NA, cART, and control groups (p < 0.001 ).

Conclusions

P-tau was not higher in HIV-infected patients compared to uninfected controls, thus failing to support a role for premature or accelerated brain aging in HIV infection.