title: Serum retinol and HIV-1 RNA viral load in rapid and slow progressors.
abstract: Few studies have addressed the relation between serum vitamin A level and HIV disease progression. Thirty HIV-infected women in Rwanda were studied over a time span of 26 to 99 months. Fourteen subjects seroconverted and died of HIV-related disease at a mean of 44 months (range, 26-69 months) after their first HIV-positive test and were termed "rapid progressors," (RPs). A comparison group of 16 "slow progressors" (SPs) were HIV-positive at the time of their first HIV serology and had asymptomatic HIV infections at a mean of 96 months (range, 93-99 months) after their first HIV serology. Baseline mean serum retinol values were the same in RPs and SPs: 0.65 + 0.08 mmol/L versus 0.67 + 0.09 micromol/L (p = .7). Lower serum retinol levels were observed in RPs compared with SPs for the second and third measurements, obtained at a median of 12 and 24 months past baseline: 0.51 + 0.07 mmol/L versus 0.76 + 0.14 mmol/L (p = .3) and 0.44 + 0.09 mmol/L versus 0.64 + 0.08 mmol/L (p = .08), respectively. Median retinol levels for the third sample measurement were similar in RPs with lower viral load (LVL) and SPs (0.49 mmol/L and 0.52 mmol/L, respectively) compared with only 0.19 mmol/L in RPs with higher viral load (HVL; p = .02). A trend toward decreasing serum retinol levels and increasing HIV-1 RNA viral load was observed at the third sample measurement (p = .04). Subjects with LVL, higher serum retinol levels (> or =0.70 mmol/L), or both had more favorable rates of survival than subjects with HVL, low serum retinol levels (<0.70 mmol/L), or both. Although sample size does not permit definitive conclusions, this study demonstrates an association of high HIV load, rapid progression, and low serum retinol late but not early in disease progression.
authors.affiliation: Schools of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 35294-0008, USA.
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Camp
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Jolly
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karita
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serufilira
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Vermund
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D012432:Rwanda / Q000453:epidemiology; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D019562:Viral Load; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D014801:Vitamin A