G. Sfikas, Chr. Boutari, K. Tassios, K. Kaitanidis, E. Mitsiou, V.G. Athyros
Abstract
Life expectancy of HIV-infected persons has been extended by current treatment of the disease. Thus, other causes of morbidity and mortality in these patients have emerged. Liver disease was identified as a leading cause of death among HIV-infected persons and this became evident during the recent years. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of liver disease in the general population and even more in HIV-infected patients. There is no generally accepted treatment for NAFLD; however, it has been shown that statin treatment is beneficial treatment of NAFLD within a multifactorial approach of the disease or even in monotherapy. The issue is that this treatment has not yet been tested in HIV-infected persons. Thus, the logical suggestion is to try this treatment in HIV patients with NAFLD, given that these patients are exposed to high cardiovascular disease risk, and thus statin treatment might be beneficial in multiple ways. Given that not all but specific statin compounds at specific doses are effective in NAFLD treatment, prospective, randomized, controlled studies should be undertaken to prove effectives of statin treatment on HIV-infected persons with NAFLD.
Keywords: HIV, NAFLD, NASH, morbidity, mortality, treatment,HIV, NAFLD, NASH