What Are the Common Results of Mitochondrial Toxicity?
Anti-HIV drug side effects linked to mitochondrial toxicity have been around for years. It has been brought into the limelight recently because of its growing incidence and its possible role in lipodystrophy. The reason for the higher rate may be due to people taking anti-HIV drugs longer. As a result, some once rare side effects are now more common. It is also possible that mitochondrial toxicity has always been present but was poorly diagnosed. Previous analysis, for example, may have focused only on the symptoms or conditions which resulted from mitochondrial toxicity. Other more common conditions related to mitochondrial toxicity include myopathy (muscle cell destruction and weakness), peripheral neuropathy (numbness and tingling in fingers and toes) and pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). Many common blood work abnormalities are also thought to be related to this condition. These include thrombocytopenia (low levels of platelets), anemia (low levels of red blood cells) an
