Author: Natalie Zahr
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Aging, HIV infection, and alcohol exert synergist effects on regional thalamic volumes resulting in functional impairment
Regional thalamic volumetry detected normal aging declines, differential and accelerated volume losses in HIV, relations between age-related nuclear and performance declines, and exacerbation of volume declines in comorbid alcohol use disorder contributing to functional deficits.
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Anterior and Posterior Thalamic Nuclei Correlates of Memory, Attention, and Motor Processes in HIV Infection and Alcohol Use Disorder Comorbidity
Here, we examined relations between thalamic subregions (anterior, ventral, medial, and posterior) and neuropsychological functions (attention/working memory, executive functioning, episodic memory, and motor skills) in relation to HIV and alcohol use disorder.
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Contributions of cerebral white matter hyperintensities, age, and pedal perception to postural sway in people with HIV
With aging, people with HIV (PWH) have diminishing postural stability that increases liability for falls. Factors and neuromechanisms contributing to instability are incompletely known. Brain white matter abnormalities seen as hyperintense (WMH) signals have been considered to underlie instability in normal aging and PWH. We questioned whether sway-WMH relations endured after accounting for potentially relevant…
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Serum albumin and white matter hyperintensities
Here, a sample including 160 individuals with alcohol use disorders, 142 living with HIV, and 102 healthy controls was used to test the hypothesis that serum albumin would be inversely related to white matter hyperintensities volumes and directly related to cognitive performance in the two diagnostic groups.
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Age-Accelerated Increase of White Matter Hyperintensity Volumes Is Exacerbated by Heavy Alcohol Use in People Living With HIV
Antiretroviral treatment has enabled people living with HIV infection to have a near-normal life span. With longevity comes opportunities for engaging in risky behavior, including initiation of excessive drinking. Given that both HIV infection and alcohol use disorder (AUD) can disrupt brain white matter integrity, we questioned whether HIV infection, even if successfully treated, or…
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Contributions of Cerebral White Matter Hyperintensities to Postural Instability in Aging With and Without Alcohol Use Disorder
Both postural instability and brain white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are noted markers of normal aging and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Here, we questioned what variables contribute to the sway path–WMH relationship in individuals with AUD and healthy control participants.
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Cognitive Demands During Quiet Standing Elicit Truncal Tremor in Two Frequency Bands: Differential Relations to Tissue Integrity of Corticospinal Tracts and Cortical Targets
Given the complexity of sensorimotor integration invoked to maintain upright posture, the integrity of supratentorial brain structures may also contribute to quiet standing and consequently be vulnerable to interference from cognitive challenges.
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Dynamic Responses of Selective Brain White Matter Fiber Tracts to Binge Alcohol and Recovery in the Rat
To determine the dynamics of white matter vulnerability to excessive alcohol consumption, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used in an animal model of alcohol exposure.
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Imaging Neuroinflammation? A Perspective from MR Spectroscopy
The present MRS study was conducted in four groups: alcohol dependent, HIV-infected, alcohol dependent + HIV infected and healthy control individuals to determine whether metabolites would change in a pattern reflecting neuroinflammation.
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In Vivo Diffusion Tensor Imaging Evidence for Reversible White Matter Microstructural Integrity Disruption: Effects of Abstinence in Rat and Man
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In Vivo Glutamate Measured with Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: Behavioral Correlates in Aging
To investigate the contribution of regional glutamate levels to behavior in the aging brain, we used an in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy protocol optimized for glutamate detection in 3 brain regions targeted by cortical glutamatergic efferents—striatum, cerebellum, and pons.