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Serum Sclerostin Levels in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Their Association with Bone
Abdulrahman Y Almansouri1, Mohammed E Abdulfatah1, Omar H Baaqil1
1Center of Excellence for Osteoporosis Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Background:
The aim of the study was to compare serum sclerostin levels in human im-munodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients and healthy controls, and to evaluate their relationship with bone turnover markers (BTM) and bone mineral density (BMD).
Methods:
We prospectively studied 33 HIV treatment-naive patients and 63 healthy individuals; matched for age and sex. Serum sclerostin levels, BTM, BMD were measured. Viral load and cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) levels were also assessed in HIV-infected patients.
Results:
The mean±standard deviation (SD) age of sample was 37.6±10.3 years (range, 19 to 59 years). Of the 96 subjects, 58 (60.4%) were male and 38 (39.6%) were female. Infection with HIV is associated with significant reduction in serum sclerostin levels (HIV-infected: 39.4±28.3 vs. non HIV: 76.6±15.7 pmol/L; P<0.001) and a decrease in BMD at femoral neck and lumbar spine compared to healthy controls. Sclerostin however was not correlated with BMD and was not related to age, generally a strong correlation. There were no significant correlations between sclerostin and BTM (P>0.05).
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that untreated HIV and the resulting immune deficiency and/or systemic inflammation could be an important regulator of serum sclerostin in this population.
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