Nutritional deficiencies in AIDS patients: A treatment opportunity

Immune dysfunction resulting from infection with the human immunodeficiency virus has become a major health threat to populations in the United States, Canada, and throughout the world. As HIV-infected persons survive previously life-threatening infection through the use of effective medical therapies, malnutrition and wasting have become central issues in the health care plan of long-term survivors. Nutrition is a fundamental intervention in the early and ongoing treatment of human immunodeficiency virus disease. Nutritional therapy, in coordination with other medical interventions, can extend and improve the quality and quantity of life in individuals infected with HIV and living with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Medical nutrition therapy involves an assessment of nutritional status and treatment. Research about the relationship between nutrition and HIV infection is essential for understanding the mechanisms of wasting and for determining the effectiveness of nutritional therapy. The authors review the mechanisms and consequences of malnutrition in HIV/AIDS patients from recently published research papers.