This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

41/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 41 out of 100. Disparities

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Plain-language summary

Central nervous system (CNS) human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection begins during primary viremia and continues throughout the course of untreated systemic infection. Although frequently accompanied by local inflammatory reactions detectable in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), CNS HIV-1 infection usually is not clinically apparent. In a minority of patients, CNS HIV-1 infection evolves into encephalitis during the late stages of systemic infection, which compromises brain function and presents clinically as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome dementia complex (ADC). Combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has had a major impact on all aspects of CNS HIV-1 infection and disease. In those with asymptomatic infection, ART usually effectively suppresses HIV-1 in CSF and markedly reduces the incidence of symptomatic ADC. In those presenting with ADC, ART characteristically prevents neurological progression and leads to variable, and at times substantial, recovery. Similarly, treatment has reduced CNS opportunistic infections. With better control of these severe disorders, attention has turned to the possible consequences of chronic silent infection and the issue of whether indolent, low-grade brain injury might require earlier treatment intervention.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Price, R. W., & Spudich, S. (2008). Antiretroviral therapy and central nervous system HIV type 1 infection. The Journal of infectious diseases. https://doi.org/10.1086/533419

Vancouver

Price RW, Spudich S. Antiretroviral therapy and central nervous system HIV type 1 infection. The Journal of infectious diseases. 2008. doi:10.1086/533419. PMID: 18447615.

BibTeX

@article{price2008-18447615,
  author  = {Price, R. W. and Spudich, S.},
  title   = {{Antiretroviral therapy and central nervous system HIV type 1 infection}},
  journal = {The Journal of infectious diseases},
  year    = {2008},
  doi     = {10.1086/533419},
  pmid    = {18447615},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1086/533419}
}

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

How to read this study

Design: this is a narrative review. It summarises a field without a fixed search method, so it shows how authors read the evidence rather than measuring it. Use it to find the primary studies, not as a result in itself.
Size: the record gives no participant count. Look for one in the original before trusting a pattern.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded low. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Low means the abstract matched neither pattern. It is the default label, and it does not mean the work is poor; many sound lab and imaging papers land here. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

New to reading papers? Six questions to ask of any Alzheimer’s study · how we score.

Key findings

Combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has had a major impact on all aspects of CNS HIV-1 infection and disease.
In those with asymptomatic infection, ART usually effectively suppresses HIV-1 in CSF and markedly reduces the incidence of symptomatic ADC.
In those presenting with ADC, ART characteristically prevents neurological progression and leads to variable, and at times substantial, recovery.
Similarly, treatment has reduced CNS opportunistic infections.
With better control of these severe disorders, attention has turned to the possible consequences of chronic silent infection and the issue of whether indolent, low-grade brain injury might require earlier treatment intervention.

Why it matters

Combination antiretroviral therapy usually suppresses HIV in cerebrospinal fluid, reduces the incidence of AIDS dementia complex, and can prevent neurological progression or lead to recovery in those who have it. This concerns HIV-associated dementia, not Alzheimer's disease, and does not address treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Disparities →

Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 41/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of infectious diseases)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	The Journal of Infectious Diseases: journal h-index 370 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	0 / 12	No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence	1 / 5	Rated “low” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2008 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	0 / 4	Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 131 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	6.5 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 4.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 10 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Serena Spudich: h-index 58 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18447615)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	41 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.

Related studies in Disparities from nearby years

Also in Disparities

98 studies in the library are filed under Disparities with no topic tag they share with another; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed tour of them. The Disparities hub.

Similar studies

More on Disparities

See all studies in Disparities →