Article
Genetics & Heredity
Victoria Cairoli, Daniel Valle-Millares, Maria C. Terron-Orellano, Daniel Luque, Pablo Ryan, Lourdes Dominguez, Luz Martin-Carbonero, Ignacio De los Santos, Elena De Matteo, Beatriz Ameigeiras, Veronica Briz, Paola Casciato, Maria Victoria Preciado, Pamela Valva, Amanda Fernandez-Rodriguez
Summary: This study characterizes the plasma-derived extracellular vesicles miRNA signature of chronic HCV infected and HIV coinfected patients, revealing potential molecular mechanisms of coinfection. The study identifies differentially expressed miRNAs that regulate biological pathways related to HCV and HIV pathogenesis, which may assist in the development of new biomarkers and treatment strategies.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE-JMM
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Zain Ali, Iram Shahzadi, Aqsa Majeed, Hafiz Muhammad Talha Malik, Shahid Waseem, Ibrar Ahmed, Riffat Aysha Anis, Sadia Saeed, Mariam Anees
Summary: The study revealed that treated HIV infection group had the highest abundance of Firmicutes, significantly higher than the untreated HIV infection group and the control group. The untreated HIV infection group showed significantly higher species richness compared to the treated and control groups. An altered serum microbiome was observed in treated HIV infection and higher microbial abundance in the serum of untreated HIV infection.
Review
Neurosciences
Ines Carreira Figueiredo, Faith Borgan, Ofer Pasternak, Federico E. Turkheimer, Oliver D. Howes
Summary: Patients with schizophrenia have increased free-water levels in their white matter compared to healthy volunteers. Future studies are needed to determine the pathological sources of this increase and its relationship with illness duration and severity.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Hematology
Antonino Carbone, Emanuela Vaccher, Annunziata Gloghini
Summary: HIV infection increases the risk of cancer, especially lymphomas. The treatment for HIV-associated lymphomas has improved with the introduction of modern therapies, but there is still a need for the development of new treatment strategies.
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Silvere D. Zaongo, Vijay Harypursat, Farooq Rashid, Desire Lucien Dahourou, Abdoul-Salam Ouedraogo, Yaokai Chen
Summary: HIV infection can affect human cognition and intelligence, as it directly relates to HIV-1 infection and replication in the central nervous system. HIV-positive individuals may experience a range of cognitive, motor, and mood conditions collectively known as HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). Research also suggests that HIV may influence intelligence through the gut-brain axis.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nadine Mayasi Ngongo, Gilles Darcis, Hippolyte Situakibanza Nanituna, Marcel Mbula Mambimbi, Nathalie Maes, Murielle Longokolo Mashi, Ben Bepouka Izizag, Michel Moutschen, Francois Lepira Bompeka
Summary: Despite the increasing rapid treatment, the proportions of late initiation (LI) and advanced HIV disease (AHD) remain high. New approaches like home and workplace HIV testing, HIV self-testing, and screening at service points should be implemented for early detection, which is the first condition for early ART and a key to ending the HIV epidemic.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Paddy Ssentongo, Emily S. Heilbrunn, Anna E. Ssentongo, Shailesh Advani, Vernon M. Chinchilli, Jonathan J. Nunez, Ping Du
Summary: Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and mortality risk are higher among people living with HIV/AIDS compared to HIV-negative individuals. The beneficial effects of antiretroviral therapy in reducing infection and mortality risks for COVID-19 in PLWHA remain inconclusive. Prioritizing SARS-CoV-2 vaccination for persons with HIV is recommended to mitigate the increased risk associated with HIV infection.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Lesley R. de Armas, Suresh Pallikkuth, Li Pan, Stefano Rinaldi, Rajendra Pahwa, Savita Pahwa
Summary: The study found that people living with HIV who received anti-retroviral therapy experienced accelerated immune aging compared to healthy controls, and immune biomarkers in blood samples could be used as an indicator of "immunological age" during HIV infection treated with ART.
Article
Immunology
Pawel Piatek, Maciej Tarkowski, Magdalena Namiecinska, Agostino Riva, Marek Wieczorek, Sylwia Michlewska, Justyna Dulska, Malgorzata Domowicz, Malgorzata Kulinska-Michalska, Natalia Lewkowicz, Przemyslaw Lewkowicz
Summary: Peripheral neutrophils in HIV-infected individuals exhibit impaired functionality, leading to increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections and tissue damage. High levels of H3K4me3 histone modification and dysregulation of DNA transcription are observed in circulating neutrophils of HIV-infected subjects, affecting their response to LPS, cytokine synthesis, and apoptosis. Abnormalities within H3K4me3 contribute to the dysfunction of neutrophils in HIV-infected individuals by impacting the canonical NF-kappa B cell activation pathway.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Prince Kofi Parbie, Taketoshi Mizutani, Aya Ishizaka, Ai Kawana-Tachikawa, Lucky Ronald Runtuwene, Sayuri Seki, Christopher Zaab-Yen Abana, Dennis Kushitor, Evelyn Yayra Bonney, Sampson Badu Ofori, Satoshi Uematsu, Seiya Imoto, Yasumasa Kimura, Hiroshi Kiyono, Koichi Ishikawa, William Kwabena Ampofo, Tetsuro Matano
Summary: HIV-1 infected individuals under antiretroviral therapy can control viremia but are at risk of developing non-AIDS diseases, with gut microbiome dysbiosis playing a role in disease progression. A study in Ghana found differences in fecal microbiome composition between HIV-1 infected adults and healthy individuals, with reduced alpha diversity and changes in bacterial taxa observed in the infected group. This study provided insights into dysbiotic fecal microbiome characteristics in HIV-1 infected adults in Ghana, representing West African populations.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Nutrition & Dietetics
Yingying Wang, Xiaojie Huang, Yaxin Wu, Aixin Li, Yakun Tian, Meixin Ren, Zhen Li, Tong Zhang, Hao Wu, Wen Wang
Summary: The meta-analysis revealed that individuals infected with HIV have a higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency compared to those not infected with HIV. Factors such as receiving antiretroviral therapy, older age, lower BMI, lower latitude, and male sex may be risk factors for vitamin D deficiency in individuals living with HIV.
FRONTIERS IN NUTRITION
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ying Xia, Fuli Mi, Guoqiang Du, Shenghui Qin
Summary: This study investigated the immune response in HIV+ individuals receiving ART treatment after seasonal influenza vaccination. The findings revealed an increase in proliferation of CD4+T cells and B cells one week post-vaccination, which correlated with influenza-specific H1N1 Nab at day 28. The study also showed an inverse correlation between apoptosis of CD4+T cells and B cells at day 7 and influenza-specific H1N1 Nab.
HUMAN VACCINES & IMMUNOTHERAPEUTICS
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Yonas Bekele, Jay A. Berzofsky, Francesca Chiodi
Summary: HIV-1-infected individuals exhibit suboptimal response to HBV vaccines and poor maintenance of protective immunity, necessitating interventions based on factors such as CD4+ T cell counts, B cell response, vaccine formulation, and timing of administration. The initial response to HBV vaccination is crucial for sustaining antibody responses in both infected and uninfected individuals, highlighting the importance of regular follow-up and booster doses to prevent HBV transmission in HIV-1 infected people.
Article
Microbiology
Xiangning Bai, Aswathy Narayanan, Piotr Nowak, Shilpa Ray, Ujjwal Neogi, Anders Sonnerborg
Summary: The gut microbiome plays a significant role in HIV-1 immunopathogenesis, with HIV-1-infected individuals on ART showing reduced alpha diversity and increased beta diversity compared to HIV-1-negative controls. Specific species, such as Streptococcus anginosus, Actinomyces odontolyticus, and Rothia mucilaginosa, were enriched in the HIV-1-ART group. The degree of immunodeficiency correlated with gut microbiome composition and metabolic pathways, while microbial shifts were associated with changes in virulome and resistome. Methodological evaluations highlighted the impact of DNA extraction protocols on genomic DNA quantity and quality, as well as the importance of metagenome sequencing depth for recovering microbial genes. Less than 5 million reads per sample were found sufficient for taxonomy profiling in human fecal metagenomic samples.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Alan Finkelstein, Abrar Faiyaz, Miriam T. Weber, Xing Qiu, Md Nasir Uddin, Jianhui Zhong, Giovanni Schifitto
Summary: The study compared FBA and fwcDTI metrics in HIV+ and healthy control individuals, finding that FBA may serve as a potential in vivo biomarker for evaluating and monitoring axonal degeneration in HIV+ patients at risk for neurocognitive impairment. Machine learning classifiers were consistently better able to distinguish between cognitively normal patients and those with cognitive impairment using fixel-based metrics compared to fwcDTI metrics.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Review
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Md Nasir Uddin, Madalina Tivarus, Heather Adams, Erika Little, Giovanni Schifitto, Marc B. Lande
Summary: Primary hypertension in youth and young adulthood is associated with decreased neurocognitive test performance both in midlife and during youth itself, leading to concern of subsequent cognitive decline and dementia in later life. Early vascular effects of hypertension in youth may be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertensive target organ damage to the brain, but the potential impact of antihypertensive treatment from youth on subsequent cognitive health is not known.
Article
Neurosciences
Martin Cole, Kyle Murray, Etienne St-Onge, Benjamin Risk, Jianhui Zhong, Giovanni Schifitto, Maxime Descoteaux, Zhengwu Zhang
Summary: There is increasing interest in studying the relationship between structural connectivity (SC) and functional connectivity (FC) using diffusion and functional MRI. A novel atlas-free approach called Surface-Based Connectivity Integration (SBCI) is proposed to accurately study the relationships between SC and FC. Using data from the Human Connectome Project, high-quality SC-FC coupling measures produced by SBCI were introduced and used to study sex differences in young adults, showing promise for future connectomics studies.
HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
(2021)
Article
Biophysics
Abrar Faiyaz, Marvin Doyley, Giovanni Schifitto, Jianhui Zhong, Md Nasir Uddin
Summary: The study investigated the possibility of creating robust NODDI parameter maps with single-shell data using the isotropic volume fraction as a prior. Results show that the method performs well in single-shell data, providing comparable NDI and ODI parameters with the original multi-shell NODDI approach.
NMR IN BIOMEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Neurosciences
Chase R. Figley, Md Nasir Uddin, Kaihim Wong, Jennifer Kornelsen, Josep Puig, Teresa D. Figley
Summary: This paper discusses the limitations of several commonly used MRI biomarkers in diffusion imaging studies and suggests that future research should refrain from over-interpreting FA, AD, and RD values as standalone markers of cerebral white matter microstructure.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ruth Ann Marrie, Ronak Patel, Chase R. Figley, Jennifer Kornelsen, James M. Bolton, Lesley A. Graff, Erin L. Mazerolle, Carl Helmick, Md Nasir Uddin, Teresa D. Figley, James J. Marriott, Charles N. Bernstein, John D. Fisk
Summary: This study found that vascular comorbidities are associated with lower cognitive function in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and this association is partially mediated via changes in brain macrostructure and microstructure.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Miriam T. Weber, Alan Finkelstein, Md Nasir Uddin, Elizabeth Asiago Reddy, Roberto C. Arduino, Lu Wang, Madalina E. Tivarus, Jianhui Zhong, Xing Qiu, Giovanni Schifitto
Summary: This study found that combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) improves cognition and brain structure in people with HIV, but differences still exist compared to HIV-negative controls. Results from untreated HIV elite controllers (ECs) suggest that these differences may be due to HIV infection itself rather than treatment. Furthermore, the stronger associations between cognition and fractal dimensionality (FD) suggest that this imaging metric may be a more sensitive marker of neuronal injury than cortical thickness and volumetric measures.
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Kyle D. Murray, Madalina E. Tivarus, Giovanni Schifitto, Md Nasir Uddin, Jianhui Zhong
Summary: The relationship between pathological brain iron deposition and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) in cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) was investigated using Monte Carlo simulations and the development of a new imaging marker called the Expected Iron Coefficient (EIC). Simulations showed that QSM signals increase with tissue iron, confirming the increase of EIC with pathology. Clinical results demonstrated that while QSM, R2*, and the IMC did not show significant differences in brain iron, the EIC did in the context of CSVD.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ronak Patel, Ruth Ann Marrie, Charles N. Bernstein, James M. Bolton, Lesley A. Graff, James J. Marriott, Chase R. Figley, Jennifer Kornelsen, Erin L. Mazerolle, Md Nasir Uddin, John D. Fisk
Summary: The association between vascular comorbidity and cognitive functioning in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was investigated. Participants with IBD were tested using a standard neuropsychological test protocol, and vascular risk was calculated using a modified Framingham Risk Score (FRS). The results showed that higher FRS was associated with lower performance in information processing speed and verbal learning, indicating that vascular comorbidity is linked to lower cognitive functioning in IBD patients, particularly in the area of information processing speed.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Abrar Faiyaz, Marvin M. Doyley, Giovanni Schifitto, Md Nasir Uddin
Summary: Artificial intelligence has made significant advances in diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) and other neuroimaging modalities, showcasing its potential in tasks such as image reconstruction, denoising, artifact removal, brain connectivity analysis, and diagnosis support. However, it is crucial to be aware of the pitfalls and emerging best practices in this field to ensure further progress and revolutionize our understanding of brain disorders. Utilizing the inherent geometry of dMRI scans has shown promise in improving inference quality and identifying pathological differences. This article acknowledges and classifies AI-based approaches for dMRI and provides insights into tissue microstructure estimation through data-driven techniques, along with directions for future research.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Jennifer Kornelsen, Theresa McIver, Md Nasir Uddin, Chase R. Figley, Ruth Ann Marrie, Ronak Patel, John D. Fisk, Sean Carter, Lesley Graff, Erin L. Mazerolle, Charles N. Bernstein
Summary: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a disorder characterized by gastrointestinal inflammation and is related to the brain-gut axis. Neuroimaging studies have identified differences in brain structure, specifically cortical thickness and complexity, between IBD patients and healthy controls. However, no significant differences were found in grey matter volume, gyrification, or sulcal depth. Disease duration was associated with cortical complexity in a specific brain region within the IBD group.
BRAIN RESEARCH BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Chase R. Figley, Teresa D. Figley, Kaihim Wong, Md Nasir Uddin, Rodrigo Dalvit Carvalho da Silva, Jennifer Kornelsen
Summary: The UManitoba-JHU functionally defined human white matter (WM) atlas in ICBM152 template space contains specific WM pathways and general WM regions underlying 12 functional brain networks. This study compared intersecting regions of periventricular and juxtacortical WM (PVWM and JCWM) with the WM networks and found that most WM networks showed lower spatial similarity with PVWM and all showed lower spatial similarity with JCWM. This suggests that these WM networks can still be used to explore network-specific WM changes, even in patient populations with known predispositions toward PVWM and/or JCWM damage.
FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Ronak Patel, Ruth Ann Marrie, Charles N. Bernstein, James M. Bolton, Lesley A. Graff, James J. Marriott, Chase R. Figley, Jennifer Kornelsen, Erin L. Mazerolle, Carl Helmick, Md Nasir Uddin, John D. Fisk
Summary: Vascular disease is associated with deleterious effects on brain structure and lower cognitive functioning in inflammatory bowel disease. Changes in brain structure, including both gray matter and white matter regions, mainly drive the decreased cognitive performance.
INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Meera V. Singh, Md Nasir Uddin, Vir B. Singh, Angelique N. Peterson, Kyle D. Murray, Yuchuan Zhuang, Alicia Tyrell, Lu Wang, Madalina E. Tivarus, Jianhui Zhong, Xing Qiu, Giovanni Schifitto
Summary: Introduction: Due to advances in cART, there is an increased burden of age-related cerebrovascular disease in people living with HIV. The underlying CNS injury can be assessed by measuring CBF and CVR. Methods: Treatment-naive PWH and HIV negative controls were enrolled in this study. Results: HIV infection was associated with reduced CVR and increased levels of endothelial and glial microparticles prior to initiation of cART. Discussion: The benefits of cART on neurovascular function after initiation are suboptimal over time.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Shuvro Das, Mst Rubayat Yasmin, Musfikul Arefin, Kazi Abu Taher, Md Nasir Uddin, Muhammad Arifur Rahman
Summary: In the era of the scientific revolution, speech recognition plays a vital role in connecting people around the world. However, most research focuses on speech recognition in the English language, posing challenges for other languages.
APPLIED INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATICS, AII 2021
(2021)
