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Background Sleep disturbance is associated with dopamine dysregulation, which can negatively impact immune status. Individuals living with HIV experience more sleep difficulties, and poor sleep may compound immune decrements associated with HIV infection. Little research has examined associations between sleep, dopamine, and immune status (CD4 count) in individuals with HIV. As ethnic minority women living with HIV (WLWH) are at heightened risk for HIV disease progression, we related sleep reports to both CD4 count and dopamine levels in a cohort of ethnic minority WLWH. Methods Participants were 139 low-income WLWH (ages 20–62; 78.3% African-American or Caribbean) who reported both overall sleep quality and sleep disturbance on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). CD4 count and HIV viral load were measured via morning peripheral venous blood samples, and concentrations of dopamine were measured via 24-hour urine collection. Covariates included HIV viral load, length of time since HIV diagnosis, HAART adherence, perceived stress and depression. Results After controlling for all covariates, greater sleep disturbance was associated with significantly lower CD4 count (β = −.20, p = .03) and lower levels of dopamine (β = −.25, p = .04). Poorer overall sleep quality was marginally associated with lower CD4 count (β = −.16, p = .08), and was not associated with dopamine. Conclusion Our analyses suggest that sleep disturbance is independently related with immune status and dopamine levels in WLWH. Lower levels of dopamine may indicate neuroendocrine dysregulation and may impact immune and health status. Results highlight sleep disturbance rather than overall sleep quality as potentially salient to neuroendocrine and immune status in ethnic minority WLWH.

are concordant with traditional methods, with 88% first pass success rates for both the CODIS and PowerPlex 16 loci. Average peak height ratios were 0.89 for buccal swabs. The system produces full profiles from swabs with at least 176 ng of saliva DNA. Rapid DNA identification systems will significantly enhance capabilities for forensic labs, intelligence, defense, law enforcement, refugee and immigration applications, and kinship analysis.

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Depression and chronic inflammation are common in persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV+). Although depression and response to inflammatory challenge are shown to reflect activity in common neural networks, little is known regarding sub-clinical presentation in persons chronically infected with HIV. The relationship of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) and bilateral amygdala to Beck Depression Inventory-1 (BDI) scores were compared within a group of 23 HIV+ and 23 HIV-negative comparison adults. An interaction was found wherein lower rsFC between the sgACC and both right and left amygdala was associated with higher BDI scores in HIV+ individuals. Total BDI scores and plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, and IL-10 made available from 10 of the HIV+ patients were regressed upon an index of spontaneous whole-brain activity at rest; i.e., the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFFs). Elevated levels of depression and IL-6 were associated with increased ALFF in a cluster of voxels on the medial portion of the ventral surface of the frontal lobe (Brodmann Area 11). Within this sample of HIV+ individuals lower rsFC of the sgACC with subcortical limbic regions predicts greater burden of depressive symptomology whereas elevated activity in the adjacent BA 11 may reflect sickness, indexed by elevated IL-6, and associated depressive behaviors.

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