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Cognitive dysfunction in HIV patients despite long-standing suppression of viremia
Simioni S, Cavassini M, Annoni JM, Rimbault Abraham A, Bourquin I, Schiffer V, Calmy A, Chave JP et al.. AIDS (London, England), 2010-06-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To determine the prevalence of cognitive complaints and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs) in a cohort of aviremic HIV-positive patients. To evaluate the relevance of the HIV dementia scale to detect HANDs. Design Assessment of HANDs with neuropsychological tests. Methods Two hundred HIV-infected patients with undetectable HIV-1 RNA concentrations in the plasma, no history of major opportunistic infection of the central nervous system in the past 3 years, no current use of intravenous drugs, and no major depression answered a questionnaire designed to elicit cognitive complaints. Cognitive functions of 50 complaining and 50 noncomplaining HIV-positive patients were assessed. Results Patients had undetectable HIV-1 RNA concentrations for a median time of 48 months (range 3.2-136.6). The prevalence of cognitive complaints was 27%. The prevalence of HANDs was 84% among patients with cognitive complaints (asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment 24%, mild neurocognitive disorders 52%, and HIV-associated dementia 8%) and 64% among noncomplainers (asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment 60%, mild neurocognitive disorders 4%, and HIV-associated dementia 0%; P Conclusion The prevalence of HANDs is high even in long-standing aviremic HIV-positive patients. However, HANDs without functional repercussion in daily life (asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment) is the most frequent subtype observed. In this population, the HIV dementia scale with a cutoff of 14 points or less seems to provide a useful tool to screen for the presence of HANDs.
Key findings
- Results Patients had undetectable HIV-1 RNA concentrations for a median time of 48 months (range 3.2-136.6).
Why it matters
In this group of HIV-positive patients with long-suppressed virus, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders were common, though most cases had no impact on daily life. This concerns cognitive problems in HIV, not Alzheimer's disease treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (AIDS (London, England)) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | AIDS: journal h-index 267 (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 | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2010 — 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 703 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 39.1 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 17.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 51 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Renaud Du Pasquier: h-index 58 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois: institution h-index 806 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | PubMed indexes it as a multicentre study |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19996937) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1097/qad.0b013e3283354a7b
- PubMed: 19996937
- Original source →
- Free full text: Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Simioni, S., Cavassini, M., Annoni, J. M., Rimbault Abraham, A., Bourquin, I., Schiffer, V., et al. (2010). Cognitive dysfunction in HIV patients despite long-standing suppression of viremia. AIDS (London, England). https://doi.org/10.1097/qad.0b013e3283354a7b
Vancouver
Simioni S, Cavassini M, Annoni JM, Rimbault Abraham A, Bourquin I, Schiffer V, et al. Cognitive dysfunction in HIV patients despite long-standing suppression of viremia. AIDS (London, England). 2010. doi:10.1097/qad.0b013e3283354a7b. PMID: 19996937.
BibTeX
@article{simioni2010-19996937,
author = {Simioni, S. and Cavassini, M. and Annoni, J. M. and Rimbault Abraham, A. and Bourquin, I. and Schiffer, V. and Calmy, A. and Chave, J. P. and others},
title = {{Cognitive dysfunction in HIV patients despite long-standing suppression of viremia}},
journal = {AIDS (London, England)},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1097/qad.0b013e3283354a7b},
pmid = {19996937},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/qad.0b013e3283354a7b}
}
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