Switching from a regimen containing abacavir/lamivudine or emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate to emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide fumarate does not affect central nervous system HIV-1 infection

Figures & data

Figure 1. Longitudinal follow-up of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers. Results of all four lumbar punctures, from pre-study to 12 months of follow up, for participants switching from abacavir/lamivudine or emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate to emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (FTC/TAF). Lumbar punctures performed after participants switched to FTC/TAF are shaded with a light-grey background. (A) CSF neopterin, (B) CSF ß2-microglobulin, (C) IgG index, (D) albumin ratio, (E) age adjusted CSF NFL, and (F) results from the neuropsychological testing with CogState. Dots depict median values and whiskers the interquartile ranges. Dashed lines indicate upper normal reference values and the dotted line for CogState results indicates zero standard deviations.

Table 1. Characteristics of participants.

	ABC/3TC	FTC/TDF	Total
Number	11	9	20
Sex (male:female)	8:3	8:1	16:4
Age in years	50 (30–69)	55 (27–67)	54 (27–69)
CD4 nadir (cells/mm^3)	190 (40–357)	80 (10–780)	170 (10–780)
CD4 baseline (cells/mm^3)	630 (170–1100)	610 (330–1000)	620 (170–1100)
Years since HIV-diagnosis	15 (3–21)	12 (5–27)	14 (3–27)
Treatment duration (years)	11 (3–20)	6 (1–20)	11 (1–20)
Additional antiretroviral drugs
-Protease inhibitor (number)	5	3	8
-NNRTI (number)	4	4	8
-Integrase inhibitor (number)	2	4	6

ABC/3TC: abacavir/lamivudine; FTC/TDF: emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate; NNRTI: non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. Values presented as median (range).

Figure 2. Baseline concentrations of (A) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neopterin, (B) CSF ß2-microglobulin, (C) IgG index, (D) albumin ratio, (E) CSF NFL (neurofilament light chain protein), and (E) results from the neuropsychological testing with CogState for the eleven participants on abacavir/lamivudine (ABC/3TC) (black dots) and the nine on emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (FTC/TDF) (grey squares). There were no significant differences between the groups. Bars indicate median and interquartile range. The dashed lines indicate upper normal reference values for CSF neopterin, CSF ß2-microglobulin, IgG index, and CSF NFL, and the dotted line for CogState results indicates zero standard deviations.

Figure 3. Individual changes with the 95% confidence interval (CI) of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers from baseline to the 12 month follow-up: (A) CSF neopterin, (B) CSF ß2-microglobulin, (C) IgG index, (D) albumin ratio, (E) CSF NFL (neurofilament light chain protein), and (E) results from the neuropsychological testing with CogState.