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Researchers Discover How HIV Affects White Matter in Brain
Patients infected with HIV experience a loss of white matter in the brain due to the virus, which is associated with cognitive impairment. A new study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) discovered the mechanism behind this white matter loss, which could help them understand how to better monitor patients taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) to treat the virus.
Previous studies done by this collaborative team have shown that treatment with ART causes white matter loss, but it was difficult for researchers to discern how much of the loss could be attributed to ART compared with the virus itself.
It's long been known that people living with HIV experience a loss of white matter in their brains. As opposed to "gray matter," which is composed of the cell bodies of neurons, white matter is made up of a fatty substance called myelin that coats neurons, offering protection and helping them transmit signals quickly and efficiently.
The brain is sometimes called grey matter, which is made up of neurons. But it also contains white matter, which are neurons that are encased in a fatty sheath | Microbiology
Researchers from Penn and CHOP detail the mechanism by which HIV infection blocks the maturation process of brain cells that produce myelin, a fatty substance that insulates neurons.