Measuring HIV-1 RNA and interferon-α in the cerebrospinal fluid of AIDS patients: insights into the pathogenesis of AIDS Dementia Complex

1999 
The aim of this work was to study the role of HIV replication and the role of endogenous secretion of interferon-α in the pathogenesis of AIDS Dementia Complex (ADC). To accurately establish the diagnosis of ADC, 39 consecutive HIV-positive patients who presented with immune and intellectual deficiency underwent an extensive neurological evaluation. This included magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological testing and a lumbar puncture. The levels of HIV-1 RNA were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood by HIV Monitor (Roche Diagnostics) and those of interferon-α by an in-house biological assay. The diagnosis of ADC was established in 22 cases, which included nine out of the ten patients who had a high CSF viral load (above 4 log HIV-1 RNA copy per ml). Patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy had low viral loads in blood and CSF. In all 22 ADC patients, viral load in the CSF correlated with the staging of ADC (r = 0.46, P = 0.03), the CSF level of interferon-α (r = 0.42, P ...
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