Author(s)

Candide About Kabamba¹, Berry Ikolango Bongenya^2,3, Jocelyn Ewuti Nonga¹, Lambert Omombo Losenga³, Noëlla Maketi Dikati³, Thérèse Kasaka Ntumba³, Grace Ipaya Booto³, Rosalie Djamba Dembo³, Stéphanie Mauwa Selenge³, Benoit Obel Kabengele⁴, Guy Makila Mabe Bumoko¹, Marie-Thérèse Ayane Safi Sombo^1*, Erick Ntambwe Kamangu^3,5*

¹Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
²Faculty of Medicine, Bel Campus Technological University, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
³“Focus HIV/AIDS” Research Group, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
⁴Department of Internal Medicine, University Clinic of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
⁵Molecular Biochemistry Department, Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Context: Antiretroviral therapies improve the prognosis of NeuroAIDS contrasting with a high frequency of Minor Neurocognitive Disorders (MND) even in aviremic subjects. Objective: The objective of this study is to present the neurological and cognitive profile of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) initiating antiretroviral treatment in Kinshasa in the era of Dolutegravir (DTG). Methods: This is a multicenter, cross-sectional study with a descriptive aim carried out in 16 HIV Outpatient Treatment Centers (OTC) in Kinshasa from October 4, 2021 to February 15, 2022. The International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS) correlated with the Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scale facilitated the categorization of NeuroCognitive Disorders (NCD) of PLHIV evaluated after carrying out a summary neurological examination. Results: Of the 96 patients recruited, 56.3% were women with a sex ratio of 0.68. The average age was 40.1 ± 12.1 years. The secondary education level was the majority at 64.6%. Malaria (44.8%) and tuberculosis (32.3%) were more common as opportunistic infections. They were alcoholics in (30.2%). Their history was heart disease (15.6%), high blood pressure (18.8%); drug abuse (10.4%). The IHDS score was light in 55.2% of cases. The correlation between IHDS/IADL watches asymptomatic neurocognitive impairments (ANI) in 77.1%, almost all of subjects are found with normal overall functioning (94.8%) and a disturbed neurological examination in 53.1% of cases with a predominance of motor impairments in 79.1%. Conclusion: In view of these results, early and systematic screening of NCD and associated factors remains necessary in our context.

IHDS, Dolutegravir Initiation, Kinshasa, Neurological Profile, PLHIV

About Kabamba, C. , Ikolango Bongenya, B. , Ewuti Nonga, J. , Omombo Losenga, L. , Maketi Dikati, N. , Kasaka Ntumba, T. , Ipaya Booto, G. , Djamba Dembo, R. , Mauwa Selenge, S. , Obel Kabengele, B. , Mabe Bumoko, G. , Safi Sombo, M. and Ntambwe Kamangu, E. (2024) Neurocognitive Profile of People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Initiating Treatment in Kinshasa in the Dolutegravir Era, Democratic Republic of Congo. Neuroscience and Medicine, 15, 1-22. doi: 10.4236/nm.2024.151001.