Zidovudine-Resistant Variants of HIV-1 in Brain

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1993. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Zidovudine-Resistant Variants of HIV-1 in Brain

Lancet (Great Britain) (10/02/93) Vol. 342, No. 8875, P. 865 (Stefano, Mariantonietta et al.)

Position changes of amino acids in the reverse-transcriptase (RT) of HIV have been associated with the development of zidovudine-resistant strains in the blood. Just hours after administration of zidovudine, the drug concentration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is half that found in plasma. It is uncertain if the resistant variants emerge in the brain as well. If they do, Stefano et al. thought it would be important to discover if resistance is defined by the same RT mutations found in blood isolates, especially since patients taking zidovudine clinically improve AIDS-related conditions of neurological and psychiatric natures. HIV was isolated from blood and CSF of four patients. Resistant strains developed both in the blood and in the brain compartment 12 to 29 months later. Stefano et al. concluded that drug-resistant HIV strains can be found in the brain compartment of patients taking zidovudine, and that the mutations linked to the resistance in CSF isolates are identical to those in blood isolates.

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