Health News
2007-01-31
Study: Rates of
HIV-induced dementia sky-high in Africa
The rate of
HIV-associated dementia is so high in sub-Saharan Africa
that it has become one of the most common types
The rate of
HIV-associated dementia is so high in sub-Saharan Africa
that it has become one of the most common types of
dementia in the world, according to an international
study led by Johns Hopkins Medical Institution.
Alzheimer’s and strokes are the other most frequent
causes.
HIV dementia
encompasses memory, learning, behavioral, and motor
disabilities that interfere with normal daily life. In
extreme cases, it can lead to total disability.
In the study,
published in the current issue of Neurology,
researchers found 31% of a small but representative group of
178 HIV-positive patients in Uganda were found to have
HIV dementia.
"Clearly,
large-scale testing would have to be conducted before we
know the global reach of HIV dementia, but this study sends
a clear message that it exists in high proportions in
sub-Saharan Africa and is an underrecognized condition
that needs to be studied and treated," said Ned
Sacktor, a Johns Hopkins neurologist and senior author of
the multi-institutional study.
Fortunately, HIV
dementia, unlike the Alzheimer’s- and stroke-induced
varieties, is treatable with antiretroviral medication.
Treatment can restore completely normal cognitive
function to some of those affected.
Dementia disrupts
jobs, adds to the cost of health care, and also
interferes with a patient’s ability to adhere to a
regular course of antiretroviral medication, thus
increasing the risk of drug resistance. People with
dementia also are less likely to practice safe sex.
An estimated 27
million adults and children are HIV-positive in the
sub-Saharan Africa. "If the rate we saw in our study
translates across sub-Saharan Africa, we’re
looking at more than 8 million people in this region
with HIV dementia," said Sacktor.
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