Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42018810›Full record

ArticleBrazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas2026

Combined antiretroviral therapy with low- or normal-protein, high-calorie diets appears to induce significant deleterious electrocardiographic changes in a rodent model.

B M Chege, P W Mwangi, C G Githinji, F Bukachi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

B M ChegeSchool of Health Sciences, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Nyeri, Kenya.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8892-3552
P W MwangiDepartment of Human Anatomy and Medical Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9019-5969
C G GithinjiDepartment of Human Anatomy and Medical Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-3465-8904
F BukachiDepartment of Human Anatomy and Medical Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3978-9101

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has significantly reduced AIDS-related morbidity and mortality. However, the prevalence of age-associated comorbidities, particularly cardiovascular diseases (CVD), has increased, becoming a leading cause of mortality in people living with HIV. This study investigated the interaction between cART regimens and dietary composition on electrocardiographic (ECG) parameters and myocardial histopathology. A total of 120 weanling Sprague Dawley rats were allocated to one of three diets for 15 weeks: normal chow, a calorie-dense low protein (CDLP) diet, or a calorie-dense normal protein (CDNP) diet. Each dietary group was then subdivided into four treatment groups for a further 9 weeks: a standard group (normal saline), Test group 1 (dolutegravir (DTG) plus tesamorelin), Test group 2 (DTG only), and a positive control (classical cART regimen). ECG recordings and histological assessments were performed at week 24. Significant intergroup variations in ECG indices were observed, including Q, R, S, and T wave amplitudes, PR interval, QRS duration, ST height, and QTc (all P<0.0001). Myocardial fibrosis (P<0.0001) was evident in animals from the TG2 (DTG only) and PC (classical regimen) groups maintained on CDLP and CDNP diets. These findings demonstrated that CDLP and CDNP diets, combined with DTG-based or classical cART regimens, exerted deleterious cardiac effects, promoting myocardial fibrosis that disrupts normal electrical conduction and may predispose to arrhythmogenesis. Tesamorelin prevented these effects, implicating growth hormone pathway dysfunction in the underlying pathology.

Indexed as

Anti-Retroviral AgentsDietary ProteinsDiet, High-ProteinDiet, Protein-RestrictedElectrocardiographyAnimalsDisease Models, AnimalMaleMyocardiumRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyAnti-Retroviral AgentsDietary Proteins

Identifiers

PMID42018810
PMCPMC13089955

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.