HIV, HCV, and gender effects on Liver, Bone, and Vascular Health

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Investigator: Phyllis Tien, MD
Sponsor: NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

Location(s): United States

Description

I propose to expand my research agenda to: (1) investigate the contribution of HIV, HCV, and their metabolic and inflammatory consequences to long term outcomes including liver disease progression measured using novel non-invasive techniques, as well as osteoporosis and vascular disease; (2) determine sex differences in the association of HIV, HCV, and their metabolic and inflammatory consequences with long term outcomes (by pooling the detailed outcomes data collected from WIHS women and VAHH and FRAM men and women) and how the menopausal transition may further alter these relationships in women compared to men; and (3) use the results to define sex-specific mechanisms that will enable interventional studies that take into account sex effects in the pathogenesis of these outcomes in HIV-infected and HCV-infected persons. As the proportion of U.S. HIV-infected men and women over the age of 50 years increases to over 50% by the year 2015, it will be of critical importance to understand the influence of HIV infection, HCV infection, the menopausal transition and their associated immune and metabolic perturbations to changes in the trajectory of liver, bone, and vascular injury.