The Risk of Bone Damage in HIV Patients

HIV Treatment and Bone Damage

A study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that a steroid medication taken with an HIV protease inhibitor may increase the risk of bone damage in HIV-infected patients.

The drug interaction may also increase the risk of Cushing's syndrome, a hormonal disorder caused by prolonged exposure of the body's tissues to high levels of steroids.

Published in the Dec. 15 issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, the study showed that ritonavir, a protease inhibitor used to treat HIV patients, taken with the corticosteroid medication, prednisone, significantly increased the concentrations of prednisolone