CHICAGO — A study led by Northwestern University on flu drugs and cognitive decline in individuals with HIV will be published on June 5, 2026, in the journal Med. The research indicates that flu drugs may preserve protective brain molecules and reduce inflammation in mouse models of HIV-related cognitive decline.

The study analyzed blood samples from over 100 individuals with HIV enrolled in the AIDS Clinical Trials Group. All participants were receiving antiretroviral treatment for HIV. Researchers identified a biological link between cognitive decline in people with HIV and the degradation of protective sugar molecules called glycans, which allows inflammation to become chronic and accelerate biological aging. Laboratory experiments and mouse studies found that a class of flu drugs preserved these sugar molecules and protected the brain. These flu drugs, called sialidase inhibitors, include Tamiflu (oseltamivir).

Glycan degradation was more pronounced in women in the study compared to men. For women, this degradation begins slower but accelerates around menopause. Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, an associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, described this finding. "Before menopause, women show a slower loss of anti-inflammatory glycans and slower accumulation of pro-inflammatory glycans compared with men, but around menopause there is a rapid shift toward a more inflammatory glycan profile," Abdel-Mohsen said.

He emphasized that the findings do not yet suggest immediately taking flu drugs for cognitive decline. "We are not saying yet that people should take flu drugs to prevent cognitive decline," he said.

Upwards of 24% of people with HIV experience some degree of cognitive impairment affecting attention, concentration, and multitasking. More than half of people living with HIV in the U.S. were over 50 years old in 2022.