Serum Sclerostin Levels in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Their Association with Bone Turnover Markers and Bone Mineral Densitometry.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the study was to compare serum sclerostin levels in human im-munodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients and healthy controls, and to evaluate their relationship with bone turnover markers (BTM) and bone mineral density (BMD).


METHODS
We prospectively studied 33 HIV treatment-naive patients and 63 healthy individuals; matched for age and sex. Serum sclerostin levels, BTM, BMD were measured. Viral load and cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) levels were also assessed in HIV-infected patients.


RESULTS
The mean±standard deviation (SD) age of sample was 37.6±10.3 years (range, 19 to 59 years). Of the 96 subjects, 58 (60.4%) were male and 38 (39.6%) were female. Infection with HIV is associated with significant reduction in serum sclerostin levels (HIV-infected: 39.4±28.3 vs. non HIV: 76.6±15.7 pmol/L; P<0.001) and a decrease in BMD at femoral neck and lumbar spine compared to healthy controls. Sclerostin however was not correlated with BMD and was not related to age, generally a strong correlation. There were no significant correlations between sclerostin and BTM (P>0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that untreated HIV and the resulting immune deficiency and/or systemic inflammation could be an important regulator of serum sclerostin in this population.
['Almansouri|Abdulrahman Y|AY|', 'Abdulfatah|Mohammed E|ME|', 'Baaqil|Omar H|OH|', 'Bakheet|Alaa A|AA|', 'Turki|Sarah A|SA|', 'Kotb|Mamdouh M|MM|', 'Althubaiti|Alaa|A|', 'Almaghrabi|Majed M|MM|', 'Althubaiti|Abdulrahman M|AM|', 'Madani|Badr M|BM|', 'Jawad|Ali S M|AS|']
HIV Glycoproteins Osteoporosis Saudi Arabia