Assessment of Antiretroviral Therapy Effects in Early HIV Infection by Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Christina Louise Sammet¹, Jordan S. Muraskin², Riti J. Mahadevia¹, Ying Wu³, Hongyan Du³, Leon Epstein¹, Babafemi Taiwo¹, Ann B. Ragin¹

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has reduced AIDS-related deaths worldwide; however, neurocognitive impairment is evident in nearly 50% of patients receiving treatment. This may reflect limited penetration of ART through the blood brain barrier resulting in reduced treatment efficacy in the central nervous system. The neuroprotective benefit of ART, therefore, is not well characterized. Evidence suggests that some agents used in ART regimens may actually be neurotoxic. In order to assess the effects of treatment on the brain, this study used diffusion imaging to study treated and untreated HIV+ subjects and age matched controls.