Do HIV-associated neurological disorders have shared mechanisms with Alzheimer’s disease?

A protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease may be a promising target for treating neurological consequences in HIV patients, according to new research. The study, which looked at post-mortem brain tissue and a rat model, has suggested the two conditions may damage neurons by a similar mechanism.

It has previously been noted that HIV-associated neurological disorders and Alzheimer’s disease have common symptoms; however, whether they also share the same mechanisms of disease progression has been controversial as HIV-associated neurological disorders do not exhibit the amyloid plaques characteristic of Alzheimer’s.