Good Evening Chaps, this comprehensive review outlines one of the many implications of HIV and below it, I've attached an excerpt from a study (A Phase 1b/2a study of the safety, pharmacokinetics and antiviral activity of BIT225 in patients with HIV-1 infection) outlining the clinically positive effect Bit225 may have on these population groups.
The burden of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) in post-HAART era: a multidisciplinary review of the literature.Caruana G1, Vidili G, Serra PA, Bagella P, Spanu A, Fiore V, Calvisi DF, Manetti R, Rocchitta G, Nuvoli S, Babudieri S, Simile MM, Madeddu G.Author information
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:The purpose of the present multidisciplinary review is to give an updated insight into the most recent findings regarding the pathophysiology, diagnosis and therapeutics of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND).
MATERIALS AND METHODS:We performed a comprehensive search, through electronic databases (Pubmed - MEDLINE) and search engines (Google Scholar), of peer-reviewed publications (articles and reviews) and conferences proceedings on HAND pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapy, from 1999 to 2016.
RESULTS:It seems to be increasingly clear that neurodegeneration in HIV-1 affected patients is a multi-faceted disease involving numerous factors, from chronic inflammation to central nervous system (CNS) compartmentalization of HIV. Diagnosis of HAND may benefit from both laboratory analysis and advanced specific neuroimaging techniques. As regards HAND therapy, modified HAART combinations and simplification strategies have been tested, while novel exciting frontiers seem to involve the use of nanoparticles with the ability to cross the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB).
CONCLUSIONS:Albeit highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) allowed a major decrease in morbidity and mortality for AIDS patients, CNS involvement still represents a challenge in HIV patients even today, affecting up to 50% of patients with access to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Future studies will have to focus on CNS compartmentalization, drugs' ability to penetrate and suppress viral replication in this compartment, and on new approaches to reduce HIV-associated neuroinflammation.
Excerpt from study (title above)
The finding that BIT225 can cross the blood–brain barrier has implications for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs). Infiltration of the CNS by infected macrophages and the propagation of virus by astrocytes and microglial cells create long-lived reservoirs with quantifiable viraemia even 2 years after the initiation of ART,33 which are likely to originate from these myeloid cells. The efficacy of ART against monocytes/macrophages has been demonstrated to correlate with cognitive function and a drug targeting cells of the myeloid lineage may improve HIV-1 neurocognitive impairment.
DYOR!
