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ESI Special Topics, August 2003
Citing URL: http://www.esi-topics.com/erf/2003/august03-PeterReiss.html

From •>>August 2003

Peter Reiss answers a few questions about this month's emerging research front in field of Immunology:

Immunology
Article: "Nevirapine-containing antiretroviral therapy in HIV-1 infected patients results in an anti-atherogenic lipid profile"
 Author: van der Valk, M;Kastelein, JJP;Murphy, RL;van Leth, F;Katlama, C;Horban, A;Glesby, M;Behrens, G;Clotet, B;Stellato, RK;Molhuizen, HOF;Reiss, P
Journal: AIDS, 15: (18) 2407-2414, DEC 7 2001
Addresses:
Univ Amsterdam, Acad Med Ctr, IATEC, T0-120, Meibergdreef 9, NL-1105 AZ Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Univ Amsterdam, Acad Med Ctr, IATEC, NL-1105 AZ Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Univ Amsterdam, Acad Med Ctr, Dept Infect Dis Trop Med & AIDS, NL-1105 AZ Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Univ Amsterdam, Acad Med Ctr, Dept Vasc Med, NL-1105 AZ Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Northwestern Univ, Sch Med, Dept Med, Chicago, IL 60611 USA.
Hop La Pitie Salpetriere, Serv Malad Infect & Trop, Paris, France.
Cent Diagnostyki Therapii AIDS, Warsaw, Poland.
Cornell Univ, Weill Med Coll, Dept Med, New York, NY 10021 USA.
Hannover Med Sch, Abt Klin Immunol, Hannover, Germany.
Univ Autonoma Barcelona, Hosp Germans Trias & Pujol, IrsiCaixa Fdn, HIV Unit, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain.
Univ Autonoma Barcelona, Hosp Germans Trias & Pujol, IrsiCaixa Fdn, Retrovirol Lab, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain.


ST:  Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

Because it's the first peer-reviewed publication which pointed out that nevirapine-containing HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) was associated with a markedly different lipid profile than protease inhibitor-containing HAART—most notably with regards to the effect on HDL cholesterol.Left to right: senior author Peter Reiss and first author Marc van der Valk.

ST:  Does it describe a new discovery or new methodology that's useful to others? 

It describes a new discovery, i.e. the propensity for nevirapine to markedly elevate HDL cholesterol. The extent of the elevation is far greater than that seen with any other lipid-modifying agent thus far, making this a discovery which could provide leads for developing novel HDL-modifying agents.

ST:  Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?

The fact that nevirapine containing treatment markedly raises the "good" HDL cholesterol could mean that this would diminish the risk of a patient developing coronary heart disease. This is different from HIV treatments containing protease inhibitors which are in general associated with a rise in the "bad" cholesterol which theoretically would increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

ST:  How did you become involved in this research?

As part of my general interest in researching the metabolic side effects of current HIV therapies, and the possibility to collaborate with a friend and colleague of mine at the same institute who is an expert in HDL cholesterol.End

Peter Reiss
Associate Professor of Medicine
Deputy Director, National AIDS Therapy Evaluation Center (NATEC)
Academic Medical Center
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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ESI Special Topics, August 2003
Citing URL: http://www.esi-topics.com/erf/2003/august03-PeterReiss.html
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