Older individuals with HIV infection have greater memory deficits than younger individuals

Abstract

The prevalence of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) remains persistently high in the era of combination antiretroviral therapy. We aimed to characterize the pattern of neurocognitive dysfunction in older subjects with HAND in particular amnestic versus non-amnestic impairment. One hundred six subjects from the Johns Hopkins University NIMH Clinical Outcomes cohort underwent standardized neuropsychological (NP) testing between November 2006 and June 2010. We examined performance in seven cognitive domains (memory, attention, speed of processing, visuospatial, language, motor, and executive). Older subjects were defined as age >50 years at the time of NP testing. Subjects were diagnosed with HAND according to established criteria and dichotomized into amnestic cognitive impairment or non-amnestic cognitive impairment with deficit defined as z scores