Over the past few decades, HIV has changed from a deadly disease into a manageable long-term condition for many people.
Modern treatments can suppress the virus so effectively that patients often live for many decades after diagnosis.
As a result, researchers are increasingly focused on understanding the long-term health challenges that remain, including problems that affect the brain.
One challenge that has puzzled scientists is why many people living with HIV experience difficulties with memory and thinking, even when their virus is fully controlled with medication.
These problems can affect concentration, decision-making, learning, and daily functioning. Researchers estimate that roughly 25 percent of people with HIV experience some degree of cognitive impairment.
A new study led by Northwestern University researchers may have uncovered an important part of the answer.
Their findings, published in the medical journal Med, suggest that damage to protective sugar molecules in the body may contribute to inflammation, faster biological aging, and cognitive decline. Even more surprisingly, the study found that flu drugs may help prevent some of these harmful changes.
The research focused on molecules called glycans. Glycans are complex sugar structures attached to proteins and cells throughout the body. While most people rarely hear about them, they play essential roles in regulating immune function and controlling inflammation.
The immune system depends on a delicate balance. It must respond strongly enough to fight infections but not so strongly that it damages healthy tissues. Glycans help maintain this balance by acting as natural regulators of inflammation.
The researchers analyzed blood samples from more than 100 adults living with HIV who were enrolled in the AIDS Clinical Trials Group. All participants were receiving treatment for HIV. Some had normal cognitive abilities, while others showed measurable signs of cognitive decline.
The team found a clear pattern. Individuals with cognitive impairment showed greater degradation of protective glycans. This suggested that the loss of these molecules may contribute to chronic inflammation and potentially accelerate aging processes in the brain.
To investigate further, the scientists conducted experiments using immune cells from people living with HIV as well as mouse models. The findings consistently pointed toward the same conclusion. As protective glycans broke down, inflammation increased and biological aging appeared to accelerate.
The researchers then tested whether existing medications could interfere with this process. They selected a group of medicines known as sialidase inhibitors. These drugs include Tamiflu, a medication commonly used to treat influenza infections.
Most people know Tamiflu as a flu treatment. It works by blocking viral enzymes that help flu viruses spread. However, the researchers discovered that similar drugs could also block enzymes involved in breaking down protective glycans.
When used in mice, the treatment preserved glycan levels, reduced inflammation, slowed biological aging, and protected memory function. These results suggest that preventing glycan loss may help protect the brain from some of the long-term effects associated with chronic HIV infection.
The study also revealed notable differences between men and women. Changes in glycan levels appeared to occur more dramatically in women, especially around menopause.
Before menopause, women generally showed slower changes in these molecules than men. Around menopause, however, the process accelerated and shifted toward a more inflammatory state.
This observation may be important because inflammation is increasingly recognized as a major driver of aging and age-related diseases. Understanding how these biological processes differ between men and women could eventually lead to more personalized approaches to treatment.
Researchers are now working to build on these findings. One goal is to determine whether glycan measurements can be developed into blood tests that predict future cognitive decline. Such tests could help doctors identify high-risk individuals before symptoms become severe.
The team is also exploring how to optimize treatment strategies involving sialidase inhibitors.
Although these drugs are already approved and widely used for influenza, they have never been tested for preventing cognitive decline or slowing biological aging. Determining the correct dosage, timing, and long-term safety will require extensive additional research.
If you care about dementia, please read studies that eating apples and tea could keep dementia at bay, and Olive oil: a daily dose for better brain health.
For more health information, please see recent studies what you eat together may affect your dementia risk, and time-restricted eating: a simple way to fight aging and cancer.
Source: Northwestern University.
