Amyloid beta-42 (Aβ-42), neprilysin and cytokine levels. A pilot study in patients with HIV related cognitive impairments

• There is frequent detectable plasma Aβ-42 in HIV-related cognitive impairment (HCI).
• IL-8 may play a role in CNS inflammation leading to HCI.
• We indicate the regulatory role of CSF neprilysin on CSF Aβ-42.

HIV-associated dementia (HAD) is associated with amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition. This study measured CSF and plasma amyloid beta-42 (Aβ-42), neprilysin (NEP) and cytokine levels in HIV-related cognitive impairments (HCI), HIV normal cognitive functioning (NF) and non-HIV controls. Our data showed a trend towards detectable plasma Aβ-42 levels more frequently in HCI (67%), when compared to NF (29%) and controls (10%). We showed elevated IL-8 levels in CSF of HCI compared to NF, although not significant values. The data from this pilot study indicates that CSF IL-8 and plasma Aβ-42 may be interesting biomarkers for the presence of HCI.