Biomarkers, laboratory, and animal models for the design and development of adjunctive therapies for HIV-1 dementia and other neuroinflammatory disorders

The goals of this component were to discuss the potential for NeuroAIDS therapeutics. The presentations included discussions of biomarkers, pathogenic mechanisms of disease, laboratory models, and the development of adjunctive therapies for neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders with a focus on NeuroAIDS. Talks by Dana Giulian on the use of CSF biomarkers for therapeutic trial design in dementia, Howard Fox on the SIV model of NeuroAIDS, Christine Zink on minocycline and its antiretroviral activities, and Katrina L. Mealey on the means to improve drug access to the brain by regulation P-glycoprotein, rounded out the session. It was acknowledged that although a number of compounds including selegiline, nimodipine, and memantine were studied in clinical trials and showed some trends towards clinical improvement none showed significance. Drugs such as minocycline, sodium valproate, and P-glycoprotein regulators were discussed and now are being developed. Partnerships between public institutions and private companies were discussed. Multidisciplinary teams are likely required to see such research to fruition, and the developmental schemes from the molecule to the laboratory to the animal to the clinic were discussed and developed in the session.