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Neurocognitive impairment associated with predominantly early stage HIV infection in Abuja, Nigeria

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Abstract

Detailed neuropsychological testing was performed on 133 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive (SP) and 77 HIV seronegative (SN) individuals, 86 % with early stage HIV infection in Nigeria, to determine the frequency of HIV-related neurocognitive impairment among the HIV-infected group. The tests were administered to assess the following seven ability domains: speed of information processing, attention/working memory, executive functioning, learning, memory, verbal fluency, and motor function motor. Demographically corrected individual test scores and scores for each domain or reflecting a global deficit (a global deficit score, or GDS) were compared for the SP and SN groups. SP participants were older, had fewer years of education, were more likely to be married, differed in ethnicity, and had higher depression scores than SN individuals. Within the seven ability domains, SP performed worse than SN with respect to speed of information processing, executive function, learning, memory, and verbal fluency and also on the global measure. SP were also more frequently impaired on tests of SIP, and there was a borderline increase in the frequency of global impairment. On the individual tests, SP performed worse than SN on four tests that assessed learning, verbal fluency, memory, and motor function (the Timed Gait). SP subjects, however, performed better than SN on the Finger-tapping test, also a motor task. Performance by SP subjects was not associated on the timed gait which showed a borderline statistically significant correlation with CD4 counts. However, there were significant correlations between viral load measurements and individual tests of speed of information processing, executive function, learning, and verbal fluency and with overall executive function and a borderline correlation with the GDS. Depression scores for SP were associated with impairment on only a single test of executive function. These results demonstrate the ability of these assessments to identify areas of impairment that may be specifically linked to a history of HIV infection among individuals in Nigeria. Confirmation of these findings awaits analyses using data from a larger number of control subjects.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by R01MH086356 NIMH/NIH (W. Royal and W.A. Blattner).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Walter Royal III

  2. The Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Christopher Akolo, Lindsay Eyzaguirre, Joyce Johnson, Alashl’e Abimiku & William A. Blattner

  3. HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Mariana Cherner, Anya Umlauf & Terence Hendrix

  4. Institute of Human Virology-Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria

    Kanayo Okwuasaba & Ruxton Adebiyi

Authors
  1. Christopher Akolo
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  2. Walter Royal III
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  3. Mariana Cherner
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  4. Kanayo Okwuasaba
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  5. Lindsay Eyzaguirre
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  7. Anya Umlauf
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  8. Terence Hendrix
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  9. Joyce Johnson
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  10. Alashl’e Abimiku
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  11. William A. Blattner
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Correspondence to Walter Royal III.

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Akolo, C., Royal, W., Cherner, M. et al. Neurocognitive impairment associated with predominantly early stage HIV infection in Abuja, Nigeria. J. Neurovirol. 20, 380–387 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-014-0254-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-014-0254-6

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