AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

Includes abstract. The human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) causes cognitive impairment in up to 50% of HIV-infected individuals. High prevalence rates of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) have been reported in South Africa. Systemic inflammation associated with HIV-infection may enhance neuroinflammation, and ultimately neurodegeneration, through signalling from the periphery to the brain. In the South African setting, opportunistic infections remain common. South Africans are predominantly infected with clade C of HIV-1 for which we have limited information about its neurological complications. Indigenous South Africans have a high frequency of the ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) and APOE ε4 has been investigated as a risk factor for HAND. A study of the relationships between systemic infection, APOE genotype and cognitive impairment is therefore relevant in our setting.