Cerebral function in perinatally HIV-infected young adults and their HIV-uninfected sibling controls

Abstract

Statistically significant differences in cerebral function parameters were observed in PaHIV young adults compared to a well-matched control population. The cognitive deficit observed, in memory, rather than fine motor function, differs from the cerebral impairment often reported in HIV-infected adults.

Multicenter European Prevalence Study of Neurocognitive Impairment and Associated Factors in HIV Positive Patients

“…The self-completed tests are mainly non-language-based and the stimuli vary randomly between assessments, reducing the influence of cultural, educational, and practice effects. Computerized NP testing is widespread in research and clinical practice, and several studies have used Cogstate in HIV+ patients in Anglophone countries [ 5 , 14 , 15 , 21 – 24 ], with some work demonstrating good construct validity and correlation with traditional pen-and-paper NP batteries [ 14 , 15 , 21 ]. Ten tests were conducted; these were organized into five domains: psychomotor speed (detection and identification tests); verbal memory (Shopping List learning and recall tests); executive function (Groton Maze learning and recall tests; these tests also assess visuospatial learning and memory); working memory (One-Back speed and accuracy tests); verbal fluency (two pen-and-paper tests: controlled oral word association test [COWAT] and category fluency test [CFT]).…”

“…Exclusion criteria for the normative data included any clinically significant neurological, psychiatric or other disease, impaired visual or auditory acuity, and routine use of neurologically active medications, and assessments had been conducted in the individual’s first language. All or subsets of this normative data had been used previously to classify cognitive function in HIV+ adults [ 5 , 15 , 21 , 22 , 24 ]. Published age-, sex- and education-stratified norms were used for the COWAT and CFT [ 27 , 28 ].…”

Self-Reported Decline in Everyday Function, Cognitive Symptoms, and Cognitive Function in People With HIV

“…Cogstate is mainly nonlanguage based, and the stimuli vary randomly between assessments, reducing the influence of cultural, educational, and practice effects. Several studies have used Cogstate in HIV+ patients in anglophone countries, [20][21][22][23][24][25][26] with work demonstrating good construct validity and correlation with traditional pen-and-paper NP batteries, [21][22][23] and the method has been used in children and adults in diverse settings in Africa and Asia [27][28][29] (although not in all countries where CIPHER was based). Ten tests were organized into 5 domains: psychomotor speed (Detection and Identification); verbal memory (Shopping List learning and recall); executive function (Groton Maze learning and recall; these tests also assess visuospatial learning and memory); working memory (One-Back speed and accuracy); verbal fluency (2 pen-and-paper tests: Controlled Oral Word Association Test and Category Fluency Test).…”

“…30 Each cognitive test was converted to an age-, sex-, and education-standardized Z-score using normative mean values and SD. Normative data for the computerized tests were provided by Cogstate from Europe, United States of America, South East Asia, and Australia/New Zealand, frequencymatched for age (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50), and 51+ years; minimum cell size n = 145), sex (157 female, 377 male), and education (university/further education, n = 243, or secondary school, n = 291). The normative population excluded individuals with clinical or functional impediments to test performance, and subsets of these data had been used previously to measure cognitive function in HIV+ adults.…”

“…The normative population excluded individuals with clinical or functional impediments to test performance, and subsets of these data had been used previously to measure cognitive function in HIV+ adults. [20][21][22]24,26 Published norms were used for the Controlled Oral Word Association Test and Category Fluency Test. 31,32 A continuous measure of neurocognitive function was calculated from the mean of all 5 neuropsychological domain Z scores (NPZ-5).…”