Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor Exposure Is Associated with Lower Alzheimer's Disease Risk: A Retrospective Cohort Proof-of-Concept Study.

Brain somatic gene recombination (SGR) and the endogenous reverse transcriptases (RTs) that produce it have been implicated in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), suggesting RT inhibitors as novel prophylactics or therapeutics. This retrospective, proof-of-concept study evaluated the incidence of AD in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with or without exposure to nucleoside RT inhibitors (NRTIs) using de-identified medical claims data. Eligible participants were aged ≥60 years, without pre-existing AD diagnoses, and pursued medical services in the United States from October 2015 to September 2016.