Insulin Resistance Induced by Antiretroviral Drugs: Current Understanding of Molecular Mechanisms

The increase in incidence of HIV infection continues to be a major public health problem across the world; but more especially in sub- Saharan Africa. Treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has improved the prognosis of patients with AIDS; but it has also increased the incidence of various metabolic disorders; in particular insulin resistance accompanied by dyslipidaemia; hyperglycaemia and lipodystrophy. This is often accompanied by frank type 2 diabetes and increased mortality from cardiovascular disease. It is important to understand the mechanistic basis for these side-effects as the incidence of these is likely to increase as the rollout of antiretroviral drugs continues