HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) may include neurological disorders of various severities such as AIDS dementia complex (ADC) also known as HIV dementia and HIV-associated dementia (HAD), HIV encephalopathy, and Mild Neurocognitive Disorder (MND). As it seems HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders are associated with a metabolic encephalopathy induced by HIV infection and fueled by immune activation of macrophages and microglia. Despite of a group, evidences have described presence of cognitive alterations in HIV patients at different stages of HIV infection so far; little is known about the neurocognitive state of patients at very early stages of HIV infection. Here, we explored the neurocognitive profile of a group of cases of HIV patients at very early stages of HIV infection. We have analyzed of three groups of subjects, thus, we have studied a group of patients with early HIV infection, a healthy control group and a group of patients with mild cognitive impairment due to neurodegenerative causes. Our results suggested that cognitive processes are sensitive to very early neuropathological changes in HIV infection. Noteworthy, our results also showed that neurocognitive profile of HIV patients differs from those cognitive alterations in patients with mild cognitive disorders associated to primary neurodegeneration. Together, our results point out that HIV infection generates neural changes even at early stages of infection. Furthermore, our results highlight the importance of a deep neurocognitive exploration at very early stages of HIV infection as this approach allow improve the accompaniment, clinical attachment and interventions.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
HMGB1/anti-HMGB1 antibodies define a molecular signature of early stages of HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND)
