Neurological symptoms are often one of the first signs HIV has progressed to AIDS in children.

In the July 2002 issue of the Journal of Pediatrics, Dr. Octavio Ramilo, senior author of the study and an associate professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern, and colleagues write that children with HIV often fail to reach developmental milestones, show impaired brain growth and have trouble with fine motor skills even before other signs of developing AIDS are manifested. When treated with antiretroviral therapy that targeted the central nervous system, however, children showed neurological improvement.

"The good news is antiretroviral therapy does work," Ramilo said. "In some children, the amount of virus in their brains became undetectable."

In adult patients, HIV attacks the brain late in the course of illness, causing memory loss and dementia.

"Kids don't have a developed immune system like adults, so the virus is able to spread much, much faster," he said.

Twenty-three children aged seven months to 10 years were enrolled in the study at the Hospital del Nino in Panama City, Panama. All of the children had been infected with HIV at birth. At the beginning of the study, 83 percent of the children showed neurological abnormalities. After 48 weeks on antiretroviral therapy, only 35 percent of the children continued to show neurological abnormalities.

"This study proves that HIV infects the central nervous system of children, causing severe neurological problems," Ramilo said. "The study underscores the importance of using antiretroviral agents which are active in the central nervous system for treatment of children infected with HIV. You can see the difference in kids treated
'"/>

Contact: Mindy Baxter
melinda.baxter@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center
24-Jul-2002