Source: New Scientist
Date: 18 August 2007
Summary:
HIV doesn't just destroy the immune system, it may also stop new brain cells from growing. It has been known for some time that HIV can cause a form of dementia, but this had been attributed to the loss of mature brain cells, killed off by an HIV protein called gp120. Now researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have found that gp120 also slows down the division of adult stem cells called neural progenitor cells (aNPCs), thought to be important for memory and learning.
