Treatment With Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor Efavirenz Leads to Increase of Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Mice

Since the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) are living longer lives. However, HIV-1-positive (HIV-1+) patients are now experiencing many non-AIDS related comorbidities including myocardial infarction, atherosclerotic lesions, and other preclinical markers of atherosclerosis including increased carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), arterial stiffness, and impaired flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Studies have implicated the virus, the treatment, or both in the progression of these co-morbidities, causing the exact mechanisms of cardiovascular disease progression to remain unclear.