Endothelial dysfunction, increased inflammation, and activated coagulation in HIV‐infected patients improve after initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy

Objectives Endothelial dysfunction and inflammation have been demonstrated to be markers of cardiovascular risk. We investigated the effects of HIV infection per se and the antiretroviral treatment prescribed on the levels of risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Methods This was a prospective study of 20 treatment‐naïve, nonsmoking, HIV‐positive patients examined before and after 3 months of treatment with a protease inhibitor (PI)‐containing regimen followed by 3 months of treatment with nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)‐containing therapy. Parameters of inflammation, endothelial function and coagulation were examined. The results were compared with those for an age‐ and gender‐matched, nonsmoking, healthy control group. Results Compared with controls, treatment‐naïve HIV‐infected patients exhibited endothelial dysfunction [flow‐mediated dilation (FMD) 108 vs. 111% for HIV‐infected vs. control groups, respectively; P