February / March 2006
Why...-Feb/March 2006
by Barbara Zeller, MD
Does my doctor say HIV meds may help me avoid kidney disease?
HIV can hurt some people’s kidney-cell function. If left untreated, the virus can cause end-stage kidney disease, requiring dialysis. The condition, called HIV-associated nephropathy (HIVAN), occurs most commonly among African Americans. Your doctor checks for it by looking for extra protein in your urine sample and high levels of creatinine (another protein) in your blood test. As an HIV combo lowers your viral load, it reduces the HIV that can infect and destroy kidney cells. Taking HIV meds can halt or even reverse some kidney damage.
