Lipodystrophy

Abstract

Although protease inhibitors have only been available for the last few years, the rapid advance in the management of patients with HIV infection has placed highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which includes protease inhibitors, as the current gold standard of care. However, clinicians’ early enthusiasm about the decreased morbidity and mortality shown in clinical trials with HAART has been tempered in recent months. Clinical experience in the ‘real world’ has not consistently reproduced the high rates of viral suppression nor the durable responses seen in the trials. More recently, reports of an association between protease inhibitor therapy and a lipodystrophy syndrome have come to light. The major components of this syndrome were outlined to delegates during the 12th World AIDS Conference [ Geneva, Switzerland; June 1998 ].