Comparison of Roche MONITOR and Organon Teknika NucliSens Assays To Quantify Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 RNA in Cerebrospinal Fluid

Two phases of HIV RNA decay in CSF during initial days of multidrug therapy

“…22 As shown in the table, in three of four subjects both assay methods were in agreement, demonstrating more rapid viral decay during days 1 through 3 as compared with days 4 and 5. The Nuclisens® and Monitor® assays have each been shown to reliably quantify HIV-1 in CSF.…”

“…16,17 Failure to rapidly clear virus in response to therapy may reflect persistence of long-lived cells that produce virus, suboptimal drug concentrations, or drug resistance. 21,22 Baseline HIV-1 RNA concentrations in CSF were remarkably stable during 48-hour intervals. Elimination of HIV-1 RNA from CSF is one index of drug efficacy in the CNS, although the extent to which this correlates with virologic control in the brain is unclear.…”

Factors influencing cerebrospinal fluid and plasma HIV-1 RNA detection rate in patients with and without opportunistic neurological disease during the HAART era

“…HIV-1 RNA levels in CSF have been shown to be correlated with opportunistic neurological diseases [ 24 , 25 ] and HIV-D [ 22 ], and HIV-1 RNA is more easily detected in patients not undergoing HAART [ 15 , 32 ]. HAART has been shown to be effective in reducing viral replication in both plasma and CSF [ 15 , 33 - 35 ].…”