Drugs for HIV Infection and AIDS Might Prematurely Age Brains

(NaturalNews) In a report just published online in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California at San Diego say they've found a reduction of blood flow in the brains of people who are infected with HIV, the virus believed to cause AIDS. What makes this so concerning is that it indicates something is rapidly aging the brains of these patients. In fact, the blood flow in the brains of the HIV-infected research subjects was reduced to levels normally seen in uninfected persons who are 15 to 20 years older.

Does this mean HIV is causing premature brain aging? Maybe. However there's another possibility: according to the researchers, the drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS might play a role in this super fast brain aging.

AIDS drugs may damage the brain

Previous studies have found the HIV virus may adversely affect many parts of the body, including the heart, liver, kidneys, endocrine system and skeleton. Although a strong "cocktail" of antiviral medications has been credited with extending the life span of those with HIV, these drugs are known to come with a host of side effects -- many of which are health problems often associated with aging. For example, the drugs can cause anemia, digestive problems, peripheral neuropathy and osteoporosis. So it can be difficult to distinguish between any signs of rapid aging that are due to HIV or to the drugs used to treat it.

When it comes to the brain, HIV patients are sometimes known to develop dementia. And HIV infected people often complain of thinking problems.

"The graying of the AIDS patient community makes this infection's effects on the brain a significant source of concern," Beau Ances, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of neurology at Washington University and first author of the new study, said in a statement to the media. "Patients are surviving into their senior years, and a number of them are coming forward to express concerns about problems they're having with memory and other cognitive functions."

To investigate possible premature brain aging in HIV patients, Dr. Ances and his research team used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners and a new technique known as arterial spin labeling that allows precise, non-invasive blood flow measurement to check the brain blood flow in 26 subjects with HIV. The scientists also looked at the brains of 25 uninfected controls. Both groups were about the same age and had the same education.

When the study participants were resting in the scanner, the brain blood flow was found to be significantly reduced in those who tested positive for HIV compared to those in the uninfected control group. Significantly, the scientists found that having HIV was associated with reduced brain blood flow even among the younger, most recently infected patients.

The research team asked the research subjects to perform a visual task which normally triggers blood flow to increase in specific regions of the brain involved in the task. The MRIs revealed the HIV group had greater blood flow increases, suggesting their brains had to work harder in order to accomplish the task.

"Brain blood flow levels decline naturally as we age, but HIV, the medications we use to control it or some combination of the two appear to be accelerating this process independent of aging. Could we reduce the harmful effects of the virus if we started treatment earlier, or does treatment significantly contribute to the harm that's being done?" Dr. Ances said in a press statement. "These are the kinds of issues we urgently need to start examining as the AIDS patient population ages."

For more information:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...
http://www.naturalnews.com/HIV.html
http://www.aids.org/factSheets/550-...

Cell Phones Cause Brain Cancer, Scientists Warn

(NaturalNews) A report issued by the International Electromagnetic Field Collaborative and endorsed by 43 scientists from 13 countries has reviewed the evidence linking cell phone use to brain tumors, and refuting the methodology of a forthcoming industry-funded study expected to give the phones a clean bill of health.

"I fear we will see a tsunami of brain tumors, although it is too early to see that now since the tumors have a 30-year latency," study author Lloyd Morgan said. "I pray I'm wrong, but brace yourself."

Among the research cited in the study was a recent study by a Swedish team of scientists that found a 420 percent higher risk of brain cancer among people who had started using cellular or cordless phones as teenagers. Older analog phones, which are now mostly off the market, had been found to increase cancer risk by 700 percent.

Because children are especially vulnerable to radiation, the report recommends that parents not allow their children under the age of 18 to use mobile phones except in emergencies, or to sleep with cellular phones under their pillows. It recommends using corded land lines whenever possible, and using cellular phones mostly as answering machines, turning them on only to check messages and return calls. Use of cell phones inside buildings or in cars increases cancer risk, as it increases the radiation a phone must emit to function. Use of text messages and non-wireless headsets can reduce cancer risk. The report also advises against carrying cell phones against the body, even in pockets.

"Some countries are already banning cell phones over health concerns, with France saying children in elementary schools can only use them for texting," Morgan said.

The report also sets out 11 flaws in the forthcoming Interphone study, a study on cell phones and health being prepared by the wireless industry in 13 different countries. These flaws include the exclusion of non-cellular cordless phones (which also emit radiation), children and young adults (the most vulnerable demographics) from the study, the exclusion of certain types of tumors, and the exclusion of participants who died or were too sick to answer questions.

Sources for this story include: www.pcworld.com.