“…Similar results were also reported by Hsue et al 92 and by Currier et al 93 in case-control studies suggesting that traditional risk factors may contribute to atherosclerosis in HIV-infected patients independently of PI exposure. Alonso-Villaverde et al reported that HIV-infected patients with subclinical atherosclerosis have higher circulating levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), especially of the allele MCP-1-2518G, compared to patients without atherosclerotic lesions, independently of HAART regimen 94 .Different results were reported by Maggi et al who observed a higher than expected prevalence of premature carotid lesions in PI-treated patients compared to PI-naive patients 95 .Similar results have been reported in a study by Jerico et al in 68 HIV-infected patients 96 . These authors conclude, stating that HAART should be considered a strong, independent predictor for the development of subclinical atherosclerosis in HIV-infected patients, regardless of known major cardiovascular risk factors and atherogenic metabolic abnormalities induced by this therapy 96 .…”