Early Neurodevelopment of Infants Born to Hiv-seropositive Mothers

Objective To examine neurodevelopment during the first 12 months of life in infants born to HIV infected mothers. Methods Infants born to HIV infected mothers, who were receiving prenatal zidovudine monotherapy, were followed up at the Infectious Disease Clinic, Chiang Mai University Hospital and enrolled in this study. Neurodevelopmental assessment was administered at the age of 12 months by using Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID). Confirmed HIV infection status was performed at 18 months of age. Results Thirty-nine infants, 10 infected and 29 uninfected, were studied. Demographic and perinatal characteristics including birth weight, length, head circumference, prematurity, maternal age, and maternal education were no different between the 2 groups. At 12 months, growth parameters of HIV infected and non-infected groups were not different, but Mental Developmental Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) were significantly lower in the HIV-infected group than in the non-infected group (MDI=90 vs. 99, p = 0.001; PDI=83 vs. 96, p < 0.001, respectively). In the HIV infected group, infants with symptomatic HIV infection had lower MDI and PDI scores than asymptomatic ones. Conclusion HIV infected infants showed early lower developmental scores. Neurodevelopment may be one of the early markers of disease progression within the first 12 months in infants with HIV infection. Chiang Mai Med Bull 2004;43(1):1-7.