HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV)

Context:

• The study was published in the online journal NeuroImage Clinical and was carried out by doctors at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurugram, King George Medical University in Lucknow and Sidra Medicine in Doha, Qatar which analysed resting state functional MRIs.
  
  
• The researchers assessed 26 perinatally HIV infected children being treated under the National AIDS Control Programme in eastern Uttar Pradesh and 20 non-infected children from the same region.
  
  
• Key findings:
  • Children infected with the HIV have to endure a significant adverse impact on their neurodevelopment and cognitive functioning i.e. reduced memory span, attention deficit and decreased visual-motor coordination among other conditions.
    
    
  • There are significant fluctuations in regions of the brain that are associated with auditory, language, sensory and motor functional networks of HIV infected children.
    
    
  
  
  
• Comment: Decline of mental processes has been commonly observed in HIV infected adults. This new study asserts similar impact on HIV infected children.