Introduction: Approximately half of the people living with HIV (PLWH) experience HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs). However, the neuropathogenesis of HAND is complex, and identifying reliable biomarkers has been challenging. Methods: This study included 132 participants aged 50 and older from greater San Diego County. The participants were divided into three groups: PLWH with HAND (n = 29), PLWH without HAND (n = 73), and seronegatives without cognitive impairment (n = 30). Peripheral blood was collected at the clinical assessment, and plasma levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), phosphorylated Tau 181 (pTau181), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Plasma levels of NfL (but not pTau181 and GFAP) were significantly associated with HAND at a medium effect size (p = 0.039, Cohen’s d = 0.45 for HAND + vs. HAND−). Notably, higher levels of NfL were significantly associated with HAND diagnosis even after adjusting for sex. Discussion: Our data suggest that neuronal degeneration (as evidenced by increased levels of NfL), but not tau pathology or glial degeneration, is related to cognitive status in PLWH. Our results corroborate the view that blood NfL is a promising biomarker of cognitive impairment in PLWH.
Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord

中文翻译：

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人类免疫缺陷病毒相关神经认知障碍中神经元/轴突和胶质细胞损伤的血液生物标志物

简介：大约一半的艾滋病毒感染者 (PLWH) 患有与艾滋病毒相关的神经认知障碍 (HAND)。然而，HAND 的神经发病机制很复杂，识别可靠的生物标志物一直具有挑战性。方法：这项研究包括来自大圣地亚哥县的 132 名 50 岁及以上的参与者。参与者分为三组：有 HAND 的 PLWH（ n = 29）、没有 HAND 的 PLWH（ n = 73）和没有认知障碍的血清反应阴性者（ n= 30）。在临床评估时采集外周血，并通过酶联免疫吸附测定 (ELISA) 测量血浆神经丝轻链 (NfL)、磷酸化 Tau 181 (pTau181) 和胶质纤维酸性蛋白 (GFAP) 水平。结果： NfL（但不是 pTau181 和 GFAP）的血浆水平与中等效应大小的 HAND 显着相关（p = 0.039，Cohen's d = 0.45，HAND + vs. HAND-）。值得注意的是，更高水平的 NfL 与 HAND 诊断显着相关，即使在调整性别后也是如此。讨论：我们的数据表明，神经元变性（如 NfL 水平升高所证明），而不是 tau 病理学或神经胶质变性，与 PLWH 的认知状态有关。我们的结果证实了这样的观点，即血液 NfL 是 PLWH 认知障碍的一个有前途的生物标志物。
老年痴呆症认知障碍