HIV Drugs May Be Tied to Early Aging

SUNDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) — An older class of antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV can cause premature aging, a new study suggests.

Researchers examined muscle cells from HIV patients and found that zidovudine (AZT) and other antiviral drugs known as nucleoside analogue reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) damage DNA in mitochondria, the energy factories in cells.

The study is published June 26 in the journal Nature Genetics.

The finding may help explain why some HIV patients treated with antiviral drugs show advanced signs of frailty and age-related diseases such as dementia and cardiovascular disease at an early age. Read More »

Research Sheds Light on Cause of Brain Deficits in HIV Patients

TUESDAY, June 28 (HealthDay News) — Some HIV patients experience memory loss and other neurological deficits, despite treatment, and new research suggests that the reason why is because the virus weakens the blood-brain barrier by infecting a small group of supporting brain cells called astrocytes.

The blood-brain barrier is a network of blood vessels that protects the brain from harmful chemicals and toxins. In healthy people, astrocytes help bolster the blood vessels that comprise the blood-brain barrier.

The finding, published in the June 29 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, may help explain why 40 percent to 60 percent of HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy experience mild to moderate neurological problems such as learning difficulties.

For this study, the researchers built a model of the blood-brain barrier using human cells in the laboratory. The research was supported by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health. Read More »