Mitochondrial toxicity in HAART

1 November 2002. Related: On the web.

Hélène C.F. Côté, Ph.D

Damage to cellular mitochondria has snowballed into one of the most feared toxicities of antiretroviral therapy.

Yet its incidence and prevalence among patients being treated with various nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs)—believed to be the most likely culprits—have not been elucidated and the precise role, if any, of drug-induced mitochondrial damage in the development of hallmark NRTI-related side effects remains unclear.

Needless to say, a great deal of research is still needed to better understand the link between antiretroviral treatment and mitochondrial damage and the ways this toxicity can be monitored, managed, and if possible, avoided completely.

Full text at:
http://www.prn.org/prn_nb_cntnt/vol7/num3/cote_frm.htm