Neuroactive antiretroviral drugs do not influence neurocognitive performance in less advanced HIV-infected patients responding to highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: To analyze the effect of antiretroviral therapy, including drugs that have good penetration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), on neuropsychologic performance.

Methods: One hundred sixty-five HIV-1-infected patients exposed to a stable highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimen were studied. Neuropsychologic examinations were performed for all patients.

Results: A total of 50.3% of patients were impaired. In multivariate analysis, older age (for 10-year increase, odds ratio [OR] = 4.8, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.2 to 10.4; P< 0.0001) and higher plasma HIV-1 RNA levels (OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.1 to 3.2; P = 0.021) at testing were independently associated with an increased probability of impaired neurocognitive performance, whereas higher educational level was a protective factor (OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.65 to 0.90; P=0.001). A significant linear correlation was observed between the neuropsychologic z score for 8 tests (NPZ8) score, a quantitative parameter of neurocognitive impairment, and CD4 cell count at neuropsychologic testing (R = 0.273, P = 0.001) and between the NPZ8 score and the patient's age (R = 0.288, P = 0.001).

Conclusions: Our study indicates that the use of stable HAART, including multiple drugs that have good CSF penetration, was not associated with neuropsychologic performance. To prevent independent replication of HIV in CSF with better control of a relevant reservoir of HIV is one of the crucial aims of therapeutic strategy.