Psychometric utility of the international HIV dementia scale and Montreal Cognitive Assessment in HIV-associated asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment

Multimodal Approach to Neurocognitive Function in People Living with HIV in the cART Era: A Comprehensive Review

Combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) has revolutionized the management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and has markedly improved the disease burden and life expectancy of people living with HIV. HIV enters the central nervous system (CNS) early in the course of infection, establishes latency, and produces a pro-inflammatory milieu that may affect cognitive functions, even in the cART era. Whereas severe forms of neurocognitive impairment (NCI) such as HIV-associated dementia have declined over the last decades, milder forms have become more prevalent, are commonly multifactorial, and are associated with comorbidity burdens, mental health, cART neurotoxicity, and ageing. Since 2007, the Frascati criteria have been used to characterize and classify HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) into three stages, namely asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment (ANI), mild neurocognitive disorder (MND), and HIV-associated dementia (HAD). These criteria are based on a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment that presupposes the availability of validated, demographically adjusted, and normative population data. Novel neuroimaging modalities and biomarkers have been proposed in order to complement NCI assessments, elucidate neuropathogenic mechanisms, and support HIV-associated NCI diagnosis, monitoring, and prognosis. By integrating neuropsychological assessments with biomarkers and neuroimaging into a holistic care approach, clinicians can enhance diagnostic accuracy, prognosis, and patient outcomes. This review interrogates the value of these modes of assessment and proposes a unified approach to NCI diagnosis.

An Automated Virtual Reality Program Accurately Diagnoses HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders in Older People With HIV

Background

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs) remain prevalent despite antiretroviral therapy, particularly among older people with HIV (PWH). However, the diagnosis of HAND is labor intensive and requires expertise to administer neuropsychological tests. Our prior pilot work established the feasibility and accuracy of a computerized self-administered virtual reality program (DETECT; Display Enhanced Testing for Cognitive Impairment and Traumatic Brain Injury) to measure cognition in younger PWH. The present study expands this to a larger sample of older PWH.

Methods

We enrolled PWH who were ≥60 years old, were undergoing antiretroviral therapy, had undetectable plasma viral loads, and were without significant neuropsychological confounds. HAND status was determined via Frascati criteria. Regression models that controlled for demographic differences (age, sex, education, race/ethnicity) examined the association between DETECT's cognition module and both HAND status and Global Deficit Score (GDS) derived via traditional neuropsychological tests.

Results

Seventy-nine PWH (mean age, 66 years; 28% women) completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and DETECT's cognition module. Twenty-five (32%) had HAND based on the comprehensive battery. A significant correlation was found between the DETECT cognition module and the neuropsychological battery (r = 0.45, P < .001). Furthermore, in two separate regression models, HAND status (b = -0.79, P < .001) and GDS impairment status (b = -0.83, P < .001) significantly predicted DETECT performance. Areas under the curve for DETECT were 0.78 for differentiating participants by HAND status (HAND vs no HAND) and 0.85 for detecting GDS impairment.

Conclusions

The DETECT cognition module provides a novel means to identify cognitive impairment in older PWH. As DETECT is fully immersive and self-administered, this virtual reality tool holds promise as a scalable cognitive screening battery.

Selection of cognitive impairment screening tools for longitudinal implementation in an HIV clinical care setting

To address and slow the increasing burden of cognitive impairment in people surviving to older ages with HIV requires longitudinal monitoring of cognition. We conducted a structured literature review to identify peer-reviewed studies employing validated cognitive impairment screening tools in adult populations of people with HIV. We identified three key criteria for selection and ranking of a tool: (a) strength of validity of the tool; (b) acceptability and feasibility of the tool; (c) ownership of the data from the assessment. From our structured review of 105, 29 studies met our inclusion criteria, within which 10 cognitive impairment screening measurement tools were validated in a population of people with HIV. The BRACE, NeuroScreen and NCAD tools were ranked highly when compared with the other seven tools. Additionally, patient population and clinical setting characteristics (such as availability of quiet space, timing of assessment, security of electronic resources, and ease of linkage to electronic health records) were included in our framework for selection of tools. Numerous validated cognitive impairment screening tools are available to monitor for cognitive changes in the HIV clinical care setting, detecting opportunities for earlier intervention to reduce cognitive decline and preserve quality of life.

Cerebral abnormalities in HIV-infected individuals with neurocognitive impairment revealed by fMRI

Although the combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) has considerably lowered the risk of HIV associated dementia (HAD), the incidence of neurocognitive impairments (NCI) has not decreased likely due to the insidious and slow progressive nature of HIV infection. Recent studies showed that the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) is a prominent technique in helping the non-invasive analysis of neucognitive impairment. Our study is to explore the neuroimaging characteristics among people living with HIV (PLWH) with or without NCI in terms of cerebral regional and neural network by rs-fMRI, based on the hypothesis that HIV patients with and without NCI have independent brain imaging characteristics. 33 PLWH with NCI and 33 PLWH without NCI, recruited from the Cohort of HIV-infected associated Chronic Diseases and Health Outcomes, Shanghai, China (CHCDO) which was established in 2018, were categorized into the HIV-NCI and HIV-control groups, respectively, based on Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) results. The two groups were matched in terms of sex, education and age. Resting-state fMRI data were collected from all participants to analyze the fraction amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and functional connectivity (FC) to assess regional and neural network alterations in the brain. Correlations between fALFF/FC values in specific brain regions and clinical characteristics were also examined. The results showed increased fALFF values in the bilateral calcarine gyrus, bilateral superior occipital gyrus, left middle occipital gyrus, and left cuneus in the HIV-NCI group compared to the HIV-control group. Additionally, increased FC values were observed between the right superior occipital gyrus and right olfactory cortex, bilateral gyrus rectus, and right orbital part of the middle frontal gyrus in the HIV-NCI group. Conversely, decreased FC values were found between the left hippocampus and bilateral medial prefrontal gyrus, as well as bilateral superior frontal gyrus. The study concluded that abnormal spontaneous activity in PLWH with NCI primarily occurred in the occipital cortex, while defects in brain networks were mostly associated with the prefrontal cortex. The observed changes in fALFF and FC in specific brain regions provide visual evidence to enhance our understanding of the central mechanisms underlying the development of cognitive impairment in HIV patients.

Neurocognitive performance and quality of life of older adults with HIV on antiretroviral treatment in Northern Thailand

Introduction

With virologic suppression and longer life expectancy, older adults with HIV (OAHIV) are at risk for neurocognitive impairment (NCI). This study investigated neurocognitive performance, quality of life (QOL) and the association between OAHIV determinants.

Methods

This cross‐sectional study was conducted in OAHIV aged ≥ 50 years on antiretroviral treatment at community hospitals in Northern Thailand between September and November 2020. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment Thai Version (MoCA‐T) and the Thai‐validated Medical Outcomes Study HIV (MOS‐HIV) were used. NCI was defined as MoCA‐T scores <25: 16–24 for amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and <16 for dementia. For QOL, higher scores meant better QOL; a physical health summary T‐score ≥50 was defined as good QOL.

Results

Overall, 269 OAHIV were enrolled; 59% were female and 99% had virologic suppression. The current median age was 61.8 years (interquartile range [IQR] 58.9–65.7). The median duration of antiretroviral treatment was 10.5 years (IQR 8.5–13.5). The current median CD4 count (234 tested) was 484 cells/mm³ (IQR 339–634), and 99% had plasma HIV RNA <40 copies/ml (229 tested). The median MoCA‐T score was 20.0 (IQR 16.3–23.0). There were 234 OAHIV (87.3%) with NCI: 182 (67.9%) with aMCI and 52 (19.4%) with dementia. A hundred and ninety (70.6%) had good QOL. Bivariate analysis revealed no correlation between MoCA‐T scores and QOL. Multivariable linear regression analysis revealed that MoCA‐T score was associated with older age (r = –0.144, p = 0.002), lower education (r = 0.629, p < 0.001), lower income (r = 0.797, p = 0.040) and shorter treatment duration (r = 0.189, p = 0.006).

Conclusions

The vast majority of OAHIV with virologic suppression had NCI. Approximately two‐thirds had a mild impairment and one‐fifth had dementia. Neurocognitive performance and QOL were not correlated. Addressing mild NCI would enable more targeted monitoring. Early intervention and support could minimize functional impairment with increased age.

Lenalidomide Improves Cognitive Function and Reduces Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome in HIV-1-Related Cryptococcal Meningitis

Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is a common opportunistic infection in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Although there is a standardized treatment for CM, some patients still have CM-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) after anti-cryptococcal and antiretroviral therapy, which manifests as cognitive impairment. We report two cases of CM-associated IRIS in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients that were treated with lenalidomide. The treatment yielded a rapid clinical remission and improved cognitive function in both patients; their Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS) scores improved. Furthermore, we evaluated changes in 32 cytokines in the cerebrospinal fluid of two patients and found that both MoCA and IHDS were significantly negatively correlated with inflammation-related factors (growth-related oncogene, interleukin [IL]-10, IL-2, IL-8, macrophage inflammatory protein-1β, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α) and significantly positively correlated with dementia-related factors (αβ42 and total tau). Our study reveals the potential of lenalidomide in treating cognitive impairment caused by immune-mediated inflammation in patients with HIV-CM. Moreover, we speculate that lenalidomide improves cognitive function by regulating intracranial inflammation via multiple pathways, not only by TNF-α blocking.