NNRTI drugs raise cholesterol in HIV patients with TB, India study finds

[Guest guest]

Studies have shown that the Indian population in general has a high risk of

cardiovascular disease (because of genetic and other factors), and there is

concern that HIV infection and treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART) may

increase that risk.

A study conducted in south India found that HIV-positive patients with

tuberculosis (TB) who initiated once-daily nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase

inhibitor (NNRTI)–based ART under went complex changes in their cholesterol

levels, highlighting the importance of screening and treating other

cardiovascular disease risk factors. The patients were also treated with

rifampicin-based thrice-weekly antituberculosis treatment.

After 12 months of receiving NNRTI-based ART, HDL, LDL and total cholesterol

levels increased significantly. The results that around 25 percent of patients

who received an NNRTI-based regimen had an abnormal lipid profile at one year

should alert physicians to this outcome and encourage testing, the study authors

said.

" Although the current World Health Organization guidelines do not recommend

routine monitoring of lipid levels for patients receiving first-line

antiretroviral treatment, patients would benefit from an assessment of lipid

profiles and other cardiovascular risk factors followed by counseling on

risk-reduction strategies, " the study said. " As patients continue to enjoy

longer lives as a result of effective treatment, it is important to consider and

minimize long-term adverse effects of the disease and its treatment. "

The full study (Dyslipidemia among HIV-infected patients with tuberculosis

taking once-daily nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor–based

antiretroviral therapy in India) was published in the 15 February 2011 issue of

Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The study is available open access:

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/52/4/540.full.

Visit the Access to Health Information blog, which links you to the latest open

access research focused on the prevention of non-communicable and infectious

diseases: http://access2healthinfo.wordpress.com.

---

Ramos

Health Communication Specialist

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Access to Health Information blog: http://access2healthinfo.wordpress.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Axs2HealthInfo

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Access-to-Health-Information-Blog/155181401201994