Muscular weakness in individuals with HIV associated with a disorganization of the cortico-spinal tract: a multi-modal MRI investigation.

Charlotte Bernard, Bixente Dilharreguy, Michèle Allard, Hélène Amieva, Fabrice Bonnet, Frédéric Dauchy, Carinne Greib, Patrick Dehail, Gwénaëlle Catheline,
PLoS ONE. 2013-07-11; 8(7): e66810
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066810

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1. PLoS One. 2013 Jul 11;8(7):e66810. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066810. Print 2013.

Muscular weakness in individuals with HIV associated with a disorganization of
the cortico-spinal tract: a multi-modal MRI investigation.

Bernard C(1), Dilharreguy B, Allard M, Amieva H, Bonnet F, Dauchy F, Greib C,
Dehail P, Catheline G; ANRS CO3 Aquitaine cohort study group.

Author information:
(1)Université de Bordeaux, INCIA, UMR 5287, Talence, France.

Motor impairment is highly prevalent in HIV-infected patients. Here, we assess
associations between peripheral muscular deficits as evaluated by the 5
sit-to-stand test (5STS) and structural integrity of the motor system at a
central level. Eighty-six HIV-infected patients receiving combination
antiretroviral therapy and with no major cerebral events, underwent an MRI scan
and the 5STS. Out of 86 participants, forty presented a score greater than two
standard deviations above mean normative scores calculated for the 5STS and were
therefore considered as motor-impaired. MRI-structural cerebral parameters were
compared to the unimpaired participants. Fractional Anisotropy (FA), Axial
Diffusivity (AD) and Radial Diffusivity (RD), reflecting microstructural
integrity, were extracted from Diffusion-Tensor MRI. Global and regional cerebral
volumes or thicknesses were extracted from 3D-T1 morphological MRI. Whereas the
two groups did not differ for any HIV variables, voxel-wise analysis revealed
that motor-impaired participants present low FA values in various cortico-motor
tracts and low AD in left cortico-spinal tract. However, they did not present
reduced volumes or thicknesses of the precentral cortices compared to unimpaired
participants. The absence of alterations in cortical regions holding
motor-neurons might argue against neurodegenerative process as an explanation of
White Matter (WM) disorganization.

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066810
PMCID: PMC3708953
PMID: 23874398 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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