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Abstract #3110

Infection with HIV and HCV Is Associated with Neurometabolic Compromise: A 3T Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study

Rajakumar Nagarajan1, April Thames2, M.Albert Thomas1, Manoj K. Sarma1, Tim Arentsen3, Sapna Patel2, Elyse Singer4, Charles H. Hinkin2

1Radiological Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States; 2UCLA Department of Psychiatry; 3West Los Angeles VA; 4UCLA Department of Neurology


Hepatitis C virus (HCV) can damage not only the liver but also the brain. HCV infection is more serious in persons with co-infection human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Magnetic resonance spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI) enables the noninvasive measurement of biochemical information in vivo. We have evaluated the two-dimensional (2D) MRSI using a 3T MRI/MRS scanner and the LC model quantitation of metabolites. Our pilot findings demonstrate significantly decreased N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and increased choline in the HCV patients and decreased glutamate-glutamine (Glx) in the co-infected patients compared to healthy controls.