November 2000 Cover
|
 |
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that a bone disorder called osteo
necrosis is disproportionately affecting people with HIV. They are unsure what is causing the bone destruction and
why it is only being seen now. The disorder, which leads to bone death from lack of blood supply, is affecting the
hip bones among people with HIV.
The researchers said that although the condition was initially thought to be related to HIV drugs,
this association has not yet been proven. Kovacs first detected osteo necrosis among HIV patients in May of
1999, after performing magnetic resonance imaging tests to identify the bone problem. A study of 339
HIV-infected individuals at NIH showed that 4.4 percent had avascular necrosis in at least one hip. None of the 118
HIV-negative volunteers had the bone disorder.
Editor's Note: from The New York Times
You are not logged in.
No comments yet, but
click here to be the first to comment on this
HIV Digest!
|
