As persons living with HIV (PLWH) live longer, approximately 50% will experience HIV-related cognitive
dysfunction, which may affect daily activities, contribute to morbidity and mortality, and increase the likelihood
of HIV transmission. Alcohol consumption among PLWH may further exacerbate long-term cognitive
dysfunction, with the presumed mechanism involving the gut microbiome, microbial translocation, systemic
inflammation, and ultimately neuroinflammation. However, there are many gaps in our understanding regarding
the specific pathophysiological mechanisms, and a need to offer interventions that are effective and acceptable
in helping PLWH to reduce drinking or to protect them against alcohol-related harm. The overarching goal of
this P01 is to identify and ultimately implement new/improved, targeted interventions that will improve
outcomes related to cognitive and brain dysfunction in persons with HIV who drink alcohol. The proposed P01
activity will extend our current line of research that forms the core of the Southern HIV & Alcohol Research
Consortium (SHARC). The specific aims of this P01 are to: 1) improve our understanding of the specific
mechanisms that connect the gut microbiome to cognitive and brain health outcomes in persons with HIV; 2)
evaluate interventions that are intended to reduce the impact of alcohol on brain and cognitive health in
persons with HIV; and 3) connect and extend the research activity from this P01 with the training programs and
community engagement activity in the SHARC. Our P01 will utilize two cores that provide infrastructure to two
Research Components (RC1, RC2). The two RC will together enroll 200 PLWH with at-risk drinking into clinical
trials that share common timepoints and outcome assessments. RC1 will compare two strategies to extend
contingency management to 60 days, using breathalyzers and wrist-worn biosensors to monitor drinking. RC2
uses a hybrid trial design to evaluate two biomedical interventions targeting the gut-brain axis. One intervention
is a wearable, transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulator that is hypothesized to stimulate the autonomic nervous
system, resulting in decreased inflammation and improved cognition. The other intervention is a probiotic
supplement intended to improve the gut microbiome in persons with HIV and alcohol consumption. All
participants in RC2, and a subset of those in RC1 will have neuroimaging at two timepoints. The Data Science
Core will provide data management and analytical support, and will analyze existing data and the data
collected from this P01 using a machine learning and AI approach to identify factors associated with
intervention success or failure. The Administrative Core will provide scientific leadership, clinical research and
recruitment infrastructure, and connection to the outstanding training programs, development opportunities,
and community engagement provided by the SHARC. Our community engagement with diverse populations,
and collection of acceptability data from clinical trial participants, will facilitate our readiness to scale up the
most promising interventions and move towards implementation in the next phase of our research.
