Plasma cytokine levels are related to brain volumes in HIV-infected individuals.

HIV-infected individuals frequently exhibit brain dysfunction despite antiretroviral treatment. The neuropathological mechanisms underlying these abnormalities remain unclear, pointing to the importance of identifying biomarkers sensitive to brain dysfunction. We examined 74 medically stable HIV-infected individuals using T1-weighted MRI. Volumes of the cortical grey matter (GM), white matter (WM), caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, thalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, and ventricles were derived using automated parcellation. A panel of plasma cytokines was measured using multiplexed bead array immunoassay. A model selection algorithm was used to select the combination of clinical and cytokine markers that best predicted each brain volumetric measure in a series of linear regression models. Higher CD4 nadir, shorter HIV infection duration, and antiretroviral treatment were significantly related to higher volumes of the putamen, thalamus, hippocampus, and WM. Older age was related to lower volumes in most brain regions and higher ventricular volume. Higher IFN-γ, MCP-1, and TNF-α were related to higher volumes of the putamen, pallidum, amygdala, GM, and WM. Higher IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-16, IL-18, IP-10, MIP-1ß, and SDF-1α were related to lower volumes of the putamen, pallidum, thalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, GM, and WM; and higher ventricular volume. The current findings provide evidence linking smaller brain volumes to HIV disease history, antiretroviral treatment, and advanced age. Cytokine markers, especially IL-6 and IL-16, showed robust association with brain volumes even after accounting for other clinical variables, demonstrating their utility in examining the mechanisms of HIV-associated brain abnormalities.

Lethal hypoplasia and developmental anomalies of the lungs in a newborn with intrauterine adrenal hemorrhage and cerebral infarcts: a proposed pulmonary disruption sequence.

We report a case of a 31-week-gestation male newborn who died soon after birth from intractable respiratory failure and persistent pulmonary hypertension. The pregnancy had been complicated by intermittent bleeding between 13 and 20 weeks' gestation, attributed to peripheral placental separation, as well as bilateral fetal adrenal hemorrhage, first detected at 17 weeks' gestation. Postmortem examination revealed small, calcified adrenal glands as well as several remote cerebral and cerebellar infarcts. The lungs were hypoplastic (lung weight/body weight ratio: 1.64%; 10th percentile for 28-36 weeks' gestation: 2.27%) and distorted by exaggerated lobulation. Microscopically, the lungs exhibited several developmental anomalies, including focal acinar dysgenesis suggestive of arrested development in the pseudoglandular stage of development (8-16 weeks' gestation) (mainly in the upper lobes), and features of bronchial obstruction, including focal lobular hyperplasia and microcystic maldevelopment (mainly in the lower lobes). The adrenal and cerebral findings were consistent with a severe early-gestation hypoxic-ischemic insult, likely related to peripheral placental separation and chronic abruption. The co-occurrence and timing of these well-recognized hypoxic lesions provide further evidence that certain developmental lung anomalies, such as focal acinar dysplasia, focal lobular hyperplasia, and microcystic maldevelopment, may, at least in some cases, have a hypoxic/ischemic etiology.

Monochorionic twins discordant for mosaic trisomy 14.

Monochorionic-diamniotic twins are usually monozygotic twins and known to be associated with adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes. Cases of discordant karyotype of monozygotic twins are rare and most involves sex chromosomes. We present the first case of monochorionic twins with discordant karyotype manifested as mosaic trisomy 14 in one twin (B) and a normal karyotype in the other (A). We describe the postmortem pathological and imaging findings of the trisomic twin and for the first time neuropathological findings of this entity. Metaphase chromosome analysis of twin B using fetal tissue showed a 47,XX, +14 karyotype. Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) using fetal tissue revealed 38% mosaicism. CMA with placental tissue from both sides demonstrated normal karyotype and confirmed monozygosity, highlighting the value of array based testing on diagnosing mosaicism and zygosity.

Relationship of plasma cytokines and clinical biomarkers to memory performance in HIV.

Chronic systemic immune activation and inflammatory processes have been linked to brain dysfunction in medically stable HIV-infected people. We investigated the association between verbal memory performance and plasma concentrations of 13 cytokines measured using multiplexed bead array immunoassay in 74 HIV-seropositive individuals and 50 HIV-seronegative controls. Memory performance was positively related to levels of IL-8 and IFN-γ, and negatively related to IL-10 and IL-18 and to hepatitis C infection. Memory performance was not significantly related to HIV disease markers. The results indicate the importance of systemic immune and inflammatory markers to neurocognitive function in chronic and stable HIV disease.