Cross-sectional study of endothelial function in HIV-infected patients in Brazil

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV-infected patients has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This study evaluates vascular endothelial dysfunction of the peripheral circulation in Brazilian HIV-infected subjects on ART or naive to ART compared to a control group matched for age and body mass index (BMI). We performed a cross-sectional comparative study to measure postischemic peak flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery and the response to glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) in HIV-infected patients and healthy controls in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Endothelial vasomotor function was evaluated by assessing brachial artery FMD. Forty-four HIV-infected individuals (33 ARV treated and 11 ART naive) were compared to 25 healthy controls matched for age and BMI. FMD % was significantly lower for the ART-experienced patients compared to the ART-naive patients and was also significantly different from controls (ART experienced 8.2 +/- 6.0% vs. 19.3 +/- 4.8% vs. 23.3 +/- 6.1%), respectively (p < 0.0001). The cholesterol, triglyceride, and ALT levels were significantly higher in the ART-experienced group compared to the ART-naive and control subjects (p < 0.028); however, linear regression analysis revealed a statistically significant association of endothelial dysfunction as a dependent variable only with ARV treatment in HIV-infected subjects (p = 0.03). The association of endothelial dysfunction with ARV therapy in HIV-infected patients was independent of protease inhibitor-containing regimens or dyslipidemia. This dysfunction may contribute to the risk for HIV-associated atherosclerosis.