Cerebrovascular disease in highly active antiretroviral therapy-treated individuals : Incidence and risk factors

The occurrence of cerebrovascular events in patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been traditionally associated with opportunistic infections and tumors, and/or advanced stages of immunosuppression. The current use in the clinical practice of antiretroviral treatment (ART) has been associated with a dramatic reduction of HIV-related mortality. Due to the increase of median age of HIV-infected subjects and to the ART-induced lipid abnormalities, an increasing incidence of vascular complications has been reported in this population. The potential contribution of these novel mechanisms should be considered and added to the classic vascular risk factors in the HIV-infected population and the cardiac abnormalities frequently observed in these patients. Large-scale epidemiological studies are needed to better define the incidence of cerebrovascular events in HIV-infected patients and the factors associated with their occurrence.