Despite viral suppression, individuals living with HIV face increased rates of stroke and neurocognitive impairment compared with the general population. The association of HIV and stroke has been most strongly observed in women living with HIV, who may have up to 75% greater risk of ischemic stroke than uninfected women.
A team of scientists from the UC San Francisco Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Neurology, and Division of Infectious Diseases along with the UC Berkeley Department of Mechanical Engineering and Subtle Medical, Inc. (Menlo Park, California) set out to assess whole brain and regional patterns of cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) abnormalities in HIV-infected women using quantitative whole brain arterial spin labeling (ASL).
They hypothesized that HIV-infected women would demonstrate decreased regional brain CVR despite viral suppression. For…
