Neuroimaging signatures of severe depression in people with HIV

Motivation: People with HIV and co-morbid severe depression are rarely included in research, despite a critical need for identifying biomarkers for early detection of depression in this group. Goal(s): We explored whether neuroimaging biomarkers may distinguish between people with HIV experiencing severe or mild depressive symptoms. Approach: We recruited 11 participants with HIV and severe or mild depressive symptoms, who underwent standard and diffusion-weighted MR spectroscopy and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. Results: We found no significant group differences, but observed correlations of depressive symptom severity with creatine (ρ = 0.66) and NAA (ρ = 0.64) diffusion, though these findings did not survive multiple comparisons correction. Impact: This is the first study to successfully quantify neurometabolite diffusion in people with HIV and depression. Intracellular diffusion of neurometabolites may be associated with depressive symptom severity in this community, and well-powered studies are needed to resolve this relationship.