Biomarkers of monitoring and functional reserve of physiological systems over time in HIV: expert opinions for effective secondary prevention

HIV-positive individuals are more vulnerable to poor health than HIV-negative individuals. This vulnerability is characterized by a higher risk of several common, age-related health problems, even after adjustment for established risk factors. This expert opinion report aims at identifying the optimal biomarkers for monitoring the structural integrity and function of physiological systems at risk across aging in HIV-seropositive subjects. These biomarkers, readily available locally and relatively cost-effective for clinicians in primary and secondary care, should allow early detection of the first preclinical structural and functional changes in renal, brain, cardiovascular, and skeleton systems or apparatus in HIV subjects across aging. A particular interest of this report is the definition of the concept of biomarker of the "organ functional reserve". This definition emphasizes the fact that some biomarkers for monitoring the molecular, structural and functional integrity of a given organ reflect a level of impairment that is basically irremediable despite effective pharmacological or nonpharmacological intervention.