Insulin resistance and diabetes.

Abstract

Metabolic complications associated with HIV disease and its treatment--including insulin resistance and diabetes, abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels (dyslipidemia), and body fat gain or loss--remain a medical mystery and a topic of intense interest for AIDS researchers and people with HIV alike. While these complications sometimes have been collectively referred to as "lipodystrophy syndrome," it remains unclear whether or how they are related and what causes them. Scientists are urgently trying to better understand these conditions, which may have a negative impact on quality of life, interfere with adherence to antiretroviral therapy, and lead to long-term health problems. High blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) and dyslipidemia are a particular concern because in the population at large they have been linked with increased risk of heart disease. Much research is underway and new clues are steadily emerging, but Daniel Kuritzkes, MD, of Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital predicts, "We'll need several more years of follow-up to get a better perspective."