October - December 2021

A Systematic Review of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies in Perinatally HIV-Infected Individuals

Abstract

Over the past few years, neuroimaging studies have been performed in young adults with perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV) to study the impact of HIV infection on the central nervous system (CNS), but no recent reviews have been published. This review aims to identify brain areas where PHIV seems to have greater impact taking into account demographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics in PHIV infected patients. For this purpose, PubMed and Medline searches were carried out which included studies from 2010 to April 2020. We performed a systematic review and included 26 articles using structural (brain morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging) and functional magnetic resonance imaging methods involving 1182 PHIV-infected participants. Ample evidence has been provided of HIV effects on underlying brain structure. However, information recorded in the studies is commonly incomplete and results sometimes contradictory. In addition to future improvements and dissemination of tools for the developing brain MRI processing and analysis, the inclusion of data related to HIV infection itself (including clinical and immunovirological characteristics as well as detailed information about antiretroviral treatment such as age at ART initiation) may be of vital importance to the better understanding of the impact of the disease on CNS.

Keywords:
HIV/AIDS. Perinatal. Young adults. Magnetic resonance imaging. Neuroimaging.