Researchers make HIV memory loss link with Alzheimer's

Memory loss in HIV patients has been linked to dementia in people with Alzheimer's.

Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine carried out a study into this issue.

They found that they were able to distinguish between patients with Alzheimer's and those with cognitive impairments linked with HIV.

This was achieved through the study of fluid surrounding the spinal cord and brain.

David Clifford, an authority on the neurological complications of HIV and director of Washington University's AIDS Clinical Trials Unit, said: "HIV patients with cognitive dysfunction don't have early Alzheimer's - although some of the symptoms may be similar."

The study, which will be released in the next issue of the Neurology journal, found that amyloid beta levels decreases in the spinal fluid of Alzheimer's patients as it increases around their brain.

Researchers revealed that this is also the case in HIV patients suffering cognitive impairments.

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