Metabolic disorders and cardiovascular risk in HIV-infected patients treated with antiretroviral agents.

The clinical management of HIV-infected individuals is based on highly active antiretroviral combination therapy, which provides significant clinical benefit in most patients, but causes in a high proportion of them a metabolic syndrome that includes body fat redistribution, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and insulin resistance. These effects are particularly evident in patients treated with protease inhibitors. It is likely that the metabolic disorders related to anti-HIV treatment will eventually translate into an increased cardiovascular risk in patients submitted to such regimens.