U of A researchers find clue to link between HIV, dementia

The link between HIV and neurological disorders is murky, but researchers at the University of Alberta may have found a thread to pull in unravelling the answer.

Estimates vary, but up to 25 per cent of HIV patients develop some form of neurological disorder. The cause is largely unknown, but Tom Hobman, a professor of cell biology at the University of Alberta, thinks he and his co-authors of a recent study are on to something.

“We are, needless to say, very, very excited about this because despite the fact there are outstanding HIV drugs ... there still is quite a significant fraction (of HIV patients) that develop neurological disease,” Hobman said Thursday. “If we can do something to prevent that or predict and manage that, that is going to be very significant.”

The team noticed in a small sample that HIV patients had fewer proteins that make up peroxisomes, tiny organelles that are involved in lipid metabolism, than those without HIV. Peroxisomes play an important role in brain development and function.

Hobman stresses more research needs to be done.

“It is in early stages, but it’s something that we expect to move very quickly on,” Hobman said about the research.

The team relied on a small number of brain tissue samples. Getting samples this way is too difficult to perform a large study. The next step, said Hobman, is to try to develop a blood test that would allow a much larger pool of patients. A blood test could also open new avenues to monitor disease progression.

Hobman also wants to test in animals if existing cardiovascular medications which regulate peroxisomes have any effect on brain function.

“What’s quite exciting is there already are drugs, very safe drugs, that are available that modulate peroxisome activity,” said Hobman. “Would they have an antiretroviral affect? Would they slow down disease progression? Would they prevent development of neurological disease?”

The study was published last month in the online journal PLOS Pathogens. It was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Canada Research chairs.