Diabetes and HIV: Is There A Connection?

Filed in archive Research on May 8, 2006

Could Type 2 diabetes possibly be a result of an untreated HIV infection in some people? That's the new hot question in Diabetes Research.

Type II diabetes could be a complication of untreated HIV infection, according to a case report published in the online version of Clinical Infectious Diseases on 12th April. The report describes an African man with advanced HIV infection and diabetes, which resolved after viral replication was suppressed with antiretroviral therapy.

Resistance to the hormone insulin is responsible for type II diabetes, a dangerous condition when the body cannot control sugar levels in the blood. While diabetes is a known side-effect of antiretroviral therapy, particularly with protease inhibitors, some studies have claimed a link between the onset of diabetes and HIV infection itself.

Although no definite conclusions have been made, there is evidence to support the possibility. What do you think?