RESEARCH ARTICLE
Non-Cirrhotic Portal Hypertension in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients: A New Challenge in Antiretroviral Therapy Era
Hortensia Álvarez Díaz*, Ana Mariño Callejo, José Francisco García Rodríguez
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2011Volume: 5
First Page: 59
Last Page: 61
Publisher ID: TOAIDJ-5-59
DOI: 10.2174/1874613601105010059
Article History:
Received Date: 5/11/2010Revision Received Date: 15/3/2011
Acceptance Date: 16/3/2011
Electronic publication date: 29/6/2011
Collection year: 2011
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Non-cirrhotic portal hypertension (NCPH) has been recently reported as a liver disease in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected patients under antiretroviral therapy (ART). Combination of non-exclusive mechanisms has been described: primary endothelial damage of terminal portal veins induced by HIV or immunologic disorders, mitochondrial toxicity by didanosine and prothrombotic state. It is characterized by heterogeneous liver histological findings, frequently identified as nodular regenerative hyperplasia and clinical manifestations of portal hypertension with well-preserved liver function. We describe herein two HIV-infected patients with clinical picture suggestive of NCPH. Besides the case reports, we briefly address questions to apply to patient care in clinical practice.
