Johannesburg: HIV infection alters brain development in young children even when they adhere to antiretroviral treatment early in life, researchers say.

While HIV has been known to cause abnormalities in a child's brain development, therapeutic interventions can also harm a growing child, the researchers said. The findings showed that children exposed to, but not infected by HIV also appear to have ongoing changes in their brain development.

"Despite early antiretroviral therapy, we continue to observe white matter damage at the age of seven years, with new damage evident between the ages of five and seven," said lead author Marcin Jankiewicz, a researcher at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

The researchers used an advanced magnetic resonance imaging technique, called diffusion tensor imaging, to look at differences in one type of brain tissue — called white matter -- between groups of HIV-positive and uninfected 7-year-old children who started antiretroviral treatment by the age of 18 months.

White matter plays a critical role in transmitting information between distinct brain regions. The study, reported in the journal Frontiers in Neuroanatomy, confirmed ongoing microstructural differences in certain tracts between infected and uninfected children. The findings will contribute to a better understanding of brain development in HIV-infected and exposed children, as well as the impact of long-term antiretroviral treatment, the researchers said.

"We hope that our work will eventually help identify the parts of the brain that are particularly vulnerable to HIV and/or antiretroviral therapy and clarify how the timing of therapy affects brain development," Jankiewicz said. "This could inform treatment policy, help improve drug combinations, and guide early intervention strategies," Jankiewicz added. — (IANS)