Molecular Mechanisms of Cognitive Impairment in Patients with HIV Infection: Application of Bioinformatics and Data Mining

AIDS patients often suffer from cognitive impairment, including distractibility, delirium, and dementia. In fact, global brain atrophy was recognized from MRI images in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. A number of studies have shown that a complex network of inflammatory molecules including cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and excitatory compounds is associated with brain inflammation and damage in HIV-infected patients. We believe that that the role of those molecules should not be studied per se but only within its network of interactions. To this end, genomics and proteomics could be applied to reach a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying complex multifactorial disorders. Of note, bioinformatics and data mining can become an added value in this context, since they help clarify the pathophysiology of complex diseases by analyzing complex networks of molecular interactions. In this chapter, we discuss the potential role of bioinformatics and data mining in this setting.