Oxidative Stress in HIV-Infected Individuals: A Cross-Sectional Study

"HIV infection increases the oxidative stress process, and antiretroviral combination therapy increases protein oxidation and preexistent oxidative stress. The latter induces production of reactive oxygen species. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) is a means of determining oxidative stress. There is also a deficiency of glutathione in HIV infection. Persistent oxidative load leads to an accelerated rate of consumption of glutathione (GSH). This study measured LPO and GSH levels in plasma of HIV-infected individuals with or without therapy and compared these with healthy controls. ... The mean glutathione level in HIV-infected individuals was significantly lower in compared to healthy controls (p value<0.0001). There was a significant positive correlation between absolute CD4 cells and GSH levels (ρ=0.182, p=0.045). There is increased oxidative stress in HIV-infected patients. Whether supplementation with antioxidants will reduce this oxidative stress is still unknown." Read more in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, December 10, 2009.