• Andreas Knudsen, Anne Mette Fisker Hag, Annika Loft, Eric von Benzon, Sune H Keller, Holger Jon Møller, Anne-Mette Lebech, Rasmus Sejersten Ripa, and Andreas Kjær.
• Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Kettegaard Allé 30, 2650, Hvidovre, Denmark, andreas.knudsen@hvh.regionh.dk.
• J Nucl Cardiol. 2015 Apr 1; 22 (2): 372-80.

BackgroundHIV-infected patients are at increased risk of myocardial infarction and arterial inflammation has been suggested as a pathophysiological explanation. We compared the uptake of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) by PET in four arterial regions, and factors associated with FDG uptake in well-treated HIV-infected patients without cardiovascular disease (CVD) and healthy controls.Methods And ResultsWe prospectively scanned 26 HIV-infected patients on stable antiretroviral therapy and 25 healthy volunteers with FDG PET/CT, measuring standardized uptake values (SUV) in the carotid arteries, the ascending, descending, and abdominal aorta. We performed correlation analyses between FDG uptake and intima-media thickness (IMT), and soluble biomarkers of inflammation. We found no difference in arterial FDG uptake between the HIV-infected patients and healthy controls quantified either as mean SUVmax or target-to background ratio in the carotid region, the ascending aorta, the descending aorta, or the abdominal aorta. Correlations between SUV, IMT, and soluble biomarkers were scarce in both groups.ConclusionIn a group of optimally treated HIV-infected patients with full viral suppression, low Framingham risk score and no known CVD, we found no evidence of increased arterial inflammation as assessed by FDG PET/CT compared to healthy volunteers.

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