The capacity of HIV in the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid depending on antiretroviral drugs

This study aimed to determine the capacity of HIV in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of patients, depending on the reception of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Paired blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples were examined in 116 HIV-infected patients to determine the level of viral load in both biological fluids and the number of blood CD4+ lymphocytes. In patients receiving ART, the difference between the load of HIV in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was significantly smaller than in untreated patients. Taking ART reduces the amount of HIV in the blood and CSF, but the dynamics of virus suppression in these biological fluids differ. The analysis revealed a statistically significant inverse relationship between the load of HIV in the blood and the number of CD4+ lymphocytes in untreated patients. There is a clear moderate positive correlation between the level of viremia and the clinical stage of HIV infection, as well as the duration of the disease. The number of CD4+ lymphocytes was expected to be inversely weakly correlated with the clinical stage of HIV infection and its duration. Accordingly, a direct correlation of mean strength was found between the levels of viral load in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid. There was a significant increase in the difference between the levels of HIV load in the blood and CSF compared with the average value in 25.6% of patients.