Abstract
HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) continue to be a neurological complication of HIV infection in the era of combined antiretroviral therapy. Hippocampal neurodegeneration and dysfunction occurs as a result of HIV infection, but few studies to date have assesses spatial learning and memory function in patients with HAND. We used the Memory Island (MI) test to study the effects of HIV infection, apolipoprotein E (ApoE) allele status, and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) ApoE protein levels on spatial learning and memory in our cohort of Hispanic women. The MI test is a virtual reality-based computer program that tests spatial learning and memory and was designed to resemble the Morris Water Maze test of hippocampal function widely used in rodent studies. In the current study, HIV-seropositive women (n = 20) and controls (n = 16) were evaluated with neuropsychological (NP) tests, the MI test, ApoE, and CSF ApoE assays. On the MI, the HIV-seropositive group showed significant reduced learning and delayed memory performance compared with HIV-seronegative controls. When stratified by cognitive performance on NP tests, the HIV-seropositive, cognitively impaired group performed worse than HIV-seronegative controls in ability to learn and in the delayed memory trial. Interestingly, differences were observed in the results obtained by the NP tests and the MI test for ε4 carriers and noncarriers: NP tests showed effects of the ε4 allele in HIV-seronegative women but not HIV-seropositive ones, whereas the converse was true for the MI test. Our findings suggest that the MI test is sensitive in detecting spatial deficits in HIV-seropositive women and that these deficits may arise relatively early in the course of HAND.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 488-502 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal of NeuroVirology |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2012 |
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Keywords
- Apolipoprotein E
- Cognitive impairment
- HAND
- HIV
- Spatial memory
- Women
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Virology
- Clinical Neurology
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
- Neurology
Cite this
Translational spatial task and its relationship to HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders and apolipoprotein e in HIV-seropositive women. / Morales, Diana; Acevedo, Summer F.; Skolasky, Richard; Hechavarria, Rosa; Santiago, Sharon; De La Torre, Tania; Maldonado, Elizabeth; Wojna, Valerie.
In: Journal of NeuroVirology, Vol. 18, No. 6, 12.2012, p. 488-502.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Translational spatial task and its relationship to HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders and apolipoprotein e in HIV-seropositive women
AU - Morales, Diana
AU - Acevedo, Summer F.
AU - Skolasky, Richard
AU - Hechavarria, Rosa
AU - Santiago, Sharon
AU - De La Torre, Tania
AU - Maldonado, Elizabeth
AU - Wojna, Valerie
PY - 2012/12
Y1 - 2012/12
N2 - HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) continue to be a neurological complication of HIV infection in the era of combined antiretroviral therapy. Hippocampal neurodegeneration and dysfunction occurs as a result of HIV infection, but few studies to date have assesses spatial learning and memory function in patients with HAND. We used the Memory Island (MI) test to study the effects of HIV infection, apolipoprotein E (ApoE) allele status, and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) ApoE protein levels on spatial learning and memory in our cohort of Hispanic women. The MI test is a virtual reality-based computer program that tests spatial learning and memory and was designed to resemble the Morris Water Maze test of hippocampal function widely used in rodent studies. In the current study, HIV-seropositive women (n = 20) and controls (n = 16) were evaluated with neuropsychological (NP) tests, the MI test, ApoE, and CSF ApoE assays. On the MI, the HIV-seropositive group showed significant reduced learning and delayed memory performance compared with HIV-seronegative controls. When stratified by cognitive performance on NP tests, the HIV-seropositive, cognitively impaired group performed worse than HIV-seronegative controls in ability to learn and in the delayed memory trial. Interestingly, differences were observed in the results obtained by the NP tests and the MI test for ε4 carriers and noncarriers: NP tests showed effects of the ε4 allele in HIV-seronegative women but not HIV-seropositive ones, whereas the converse was true for the MI test. Our findings suggest that the MI test is sensitive in detecting spatial deficits in HIV-seropositive women and that these deficits may arise relatively early in the course of HAND.
AB - HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) continue to be a neurological complication of HIV infection in the era of combined antiretroviral therapy. Hippocampal neurodegeneration and dysfunction occurs as a result of HIV infection, but few studies to date have assesses spatial learning and memory function in patients with HAND. We used the Memory Island (MI) test to study the effects of HIV infection, apolipoprotein E (ApoE) allele status, and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) ApoE protein levels on spatial learning and memory in our cohort of Hispanic women. The MI test is a virtual reality-based computer program that tests spatial learning and memory and was designed to resemble the Morris Water Maze test of hippocampal function widely used in rodent studies. In the current study, HIV-seropositive women (n = 20) and controls (n = 16) were evaluated with neuropsychological (NP) tests, the MI test, ApoE, and CSF ApoE assays. On the MI, the HIV-seropositive group showed significant reduced learning and delayed memory performance compared with HIV-seronegative controls. When stratified by cognitive performance on NP tests, the HIV-seropositive, cognitively impaired group performed worse than HIV-seronegative controls in ability to learn and in the delayed memory trial. Interestingly, differences were observed in the results obtained by the NP tests and the MI test for ε4 carriers and noncarriers: NP tests showed effects of the ε4 allele in HIV-seronegative women but not HIV-seropositive ones, whereas the converse was true for the MI test. Our findings suggest that the MI test is sensitive in detecting spatial deficits in HIV-seropositive women and that these deficits may arise relatively early in the course of HAND.
KW - Apolipoprotein E
KW - Cognitive impairment
KW - HAND
KW - HIV
KW - Spatial memory
KW - Women
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84875752631&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84875752631&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s13365-012-0128-8
DO - 10.1007/s13365-012-0128-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 22972599
AN - SCOPUS:84875752631
VL - 18
SP - 488
EP - 502
JO - Journal of NeuroVirology
JF - Journal of NeuroVirology
SN - 1355-0284
IS - 6
ER -