Making Sense of the Lipodystrophy Studies

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What Defines HIV Lipodystrophy? Roundtable, September 2002

 

Background:

HIV-associated lipodystrophy is a multigenic and multifactorial metabolic syndrome influenced by a number of factors, including host related factors, therapy history, disease stage and co-morbidities. In the setting of HIV-infection, lipodystrophy has been characterized by morphological and metabolic changes, including peripheral lipoatrophy and central fat accumulation, commonly referred to as fat redistribution. The results of the Fat Redistribution And Metabolism (FRAM) study presented in Barcelona (XIV International AIDS Conference 2002) have generated much discussion and debate. The major finding of this study, that lipoatrophy but not visceral adipose tissue accumulation, is an HIV-associated phenomenon and that these two morphological changes are not linked, calls into question the notion of fat redistribution as commonly accepted.

The Forum will convene a Roundtable discussion in conjunction with the 4th International Workshop on Adverse Drug Reactions and Lipodystrophy in HIV in San Diego (September 23rd). This will provide an open forum for discussion of the FRAM study results in the context of previous studies and other recent data. Drs. Andrew Carr, David Nolan and Carl Grunfeld will review the data to an international group of 30-40 experts, followed by a discussion. A report of the Roundtable will be published.

Project manager:
Ben Cheng

Project specific sponsors:
Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Serono