[Endocrine consequences of infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)]

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (SIDA) is a severe multivisceral affection that is sometimes composed of a clinical expression compatible with an endocrine insufficiency. The post-mortem verifications confirmed the high frequency of the suprarenal, pituitary and testicular lesions. The hormonal functional exploration confirmed the possibility of a decrease in the cortical suprarenal function that contrasts with a moderate hypercortisolemia and an hypogonadism without elevation of the gonadotrophins. The clinical expression of the deficits is unusual. Nevertheless a few cases of obvious suprarenal or antepituitary insufficiency bond to a secondary inflammatory necrosis, an infection by CMV, or a toxoplasmosis have been reported. More often, these hormonal alterations are moderate. There mechanisms are still imprecise. The non-specific response to the stress led by the disease doesn't give an explanation to the observed abnormalities. The described existence of antihormone antibodies in AIDS or the secretory potentialities of the activated lymphocytes might contribute to the physiopathology of the endocrine modifications outside of any infections or endocrine metastatical localisation.