AIDS drugs may cause bone loss
From San Francisco, at the 7th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections
The number of AIDS-related deaths in the United States is declining, in large part because of the availability of effective drugs. However, long-term use of these drugs leads to metabolic disorders. Bone loss may soon be added to that list.
Following anecdotal reports of hip and spine problems in HIV-infected men on medication, Pablo Tebas of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and his colleagues used X rays to measure bone density. Compared with 17 men without HIV, 60 men using AIDS drugs called protease inhibitors were twice as likely to have low bone density, or osteopenia, he says. Twelve of the men getting protease inhibitors had severe bone loss, or osteoporosis, compared with just one of the 17 healthy men.