# Use of blood-based biomarker to determine patterns of neurocognitive impairment in people living with HIV

> **NIH NIH R03** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $157,500

## Abstract

As the population of people living with HIV (PLWH) ages, they are increasingly at risk of age-related
neurocognitive diseases in addition to HIV-related medical co-morbidities such as HIV-associate neurocognitive
disorder (HAND). This has resulted in new diagnostic challenges in HIV management. Alzheimer's disease (AD)
is the most common underlying cause of neurocognitive disorder in older adults (> 65 years old). Currently
available AD diagnostic tools include neuropsychological testing, structural imaging positron emissions
tomography (PET) have significant limitations. The ability to differentiate AD from HAND, or the combination of
both, early in the disease process is key to ensuring that older PLWH (> 50 years old) receive the appropriate
care for neuro-geriatric HIV care. An ideal diagnostic solution would be to demonstrate a potential role for blood-based
biomarkers as they could aid in differentiating HAND from AD in older PLWH and overcome many of the
barriers posed by other diagnostic modalities.
Recent data demonstrated that a novel blood-based biomarker, plasma β amyloid (Aβ) 42/Aβ40 ratio,
can accurately determine amyloid PET status in older cognitively normal participants without HIV potentially
allowing for screening for early AD. However, nothing is known about this marker in PLWH as it has not yet been
measured in this population. Here, we aim to compare plasma levels of Aβ42/Aβ40 in older PLWH to cognitively
normal age matched HIV negative controls and symptomatic AD participants and characterize plasma levels of
Aβ42/Aβ40 in older PLWH. We hypothesize that plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio will be decreased (worse) in older
PLWH compared to HIV-negative controls and that it may predict a pattern of neurocognitive impairment in
keeping with AD in PLWH. In addition, we will examine plasma levels of neuro-inflammation and axonal injury in
older PLWH and again compare them across groups as well as characterize plasma levels of these markers in
older PLWH. We hope to find a blood-based biomarker for AD that can be successfully used in PLWH.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10028243
- **Project number:** 1R03AG067995-01
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jane A OHalloran
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $157,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-30 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10028243

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10028243, Use of blood-based biomarker to determine patterns of neurocognitive impairment in people living with HIV (1R03AG067995-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10028243. Licensed CC0.

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