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meds & you
HIV, ARVs and the
brain
Dementia is much less common
than before HAART, but why do milder cognitive problems still
occur?
by Nancy Sheehan, pharmacist and Dr. Marianne
Harris
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We
have long known that HIV infection can affect the brain and
nervous system. Before highly active antiretroviral therapy
(HAART) became available in the mid-1990s, about one in five
people with HIV eventually developed dementia — a brain
disorder that has a major impact on your ability to think clearly,
remember things and perform daily activities such as walking.
Thanks to HAART, HIV-associated dementia is now uncommon, and
generally happens only in people with very advanced HIV disease,
i.e. very low CD4 cell counts and multiple infections. However,
even with HAART, about one in five people infected with HIV
may show milder signs of physical and mental slowing. Together,
these effects of HIV on the brain and nervous system are now
called HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND) and can
range from mild (called HIV-associated Mild Neurocognitive Motor
Disorder or MND) to severe (dementia). |
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