Brain morphometric differences in youth with and without perinatally-acquired HIV: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Youth with perinatally-acquired HIV (PHIV) experience specific and global cognitive deficits at increased rates compared to typically-developing HIV-uninfected youth. In youth with PHIV, HIV infects the brain early in development. Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated altered grey matter morphometry in youth with PHIV compared to typically-developing youth. This study examined cortical thickness, surface area, and gyrification of grey matter in youth (age 11-20 years old) with PHIV (n = 40) from the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS) compared to typically-developing presumed HIV uninfected and unexposed youth (n = 80) from the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition and Genetics Study (PING) using structural magnetic resonance imaging. This study also examined the relationship between grey matter morphometry and age. Youth with PHIV had reduced cortical thickness, surface area, and gyrification compared to typically-developing youth. In addition, an inverse relationship between age and grey matter volume was found in typically-developing youth, but was not observed in youth with PHIV. Longitudinal studies are necessary to understand the neurodevelopmental trajectory of youth with PHIV.

Keywords: Brain; Grey matter; Neurodevelopment; Perinatally-acquired HIV.

Fig. 1

Youth with PHIV(n = 40) had smaller cortical thickness than control youth (n = 80). Surface clusters (purple) indicate significantly smaller cortical thickness in PHIV than control youth with adjustment for age and sex (RFT-FWER, p < 0.05). Cooler colors indicate youth with PHIV had smaller cortical thickness than controls. Warmer colors would be indicative of a thicker cortex in PHIV compared to controls, although no such findings were observed. Scale bar indicates range of standardized regression coefficients. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Fig. 2

Youth with PHIV (n = 40) had smaller surface area than control youth (n = 80). Surface clusters (purple) indicate significantly smaller surface area in PHIV than control youth with adjustment for age and sex (RFT-FWER, p < 0.05). Cooler colors indicate youth with PHIV had smaller surface area than controls. Warmer colors would be indicative of a larger surface area in PHIV compared to controls, although no such findings were observed. Scale bar indicates range of standardized regression coefficients. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Fig. 3

Youth with PHIV (n = 40) had lower gyrification index than control youth (n = 80). Surface clusters (purple) indicate significantly lower gyrification index in PHIV than control youth with adjustment for age and sex (RFT-FWER, p < 0.05). Cooler colors indicate youth with PHIV had lower gyrification index than control youth. Warmer colors would indicate youth with PHIV had larger gyrification index than controls, although no such findings were observed. Scale bar indicates range of standardized regression coefficients. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Fig. 4

Youth with PHIV (n = 40) did not show age-related volume reduction typically seen in control youth (n = 80). Clusters indicate significant relationship between age and volume within PHIV and control youth with adjustment for sex. Cooler colors indicate negative association between volume and age (RFT-FWER, p < 0.05). Warmer colors would indicate there is a positive association between volume and age, though no such relationships were observed. Scales indicates ranges of coefficient of association for the magnitude of the volume-age relationships.