GI, Metabolic & Lipodystrophy
HIV Glasgow: HIV Treatment Benefits Outweigh Clinical Impact of Lipodystrophy
- Details
- Category: GI, Metabolic & Lipodystrophy
- Published on Tuesday, 01 November 2016 00:00
- Written by Keith Alcorn
Over a 20-year period, people who suffered lipodystrophy (abnormal fat distribution) and especially lipoatrophy (fat loss) when they started antiretroviral therapy (ART) actually had better health outcomes than people who did not suffer from it, according to a report at the 2016 International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection (HIV Glasgow) last week.

CROI 2015: Similar Fat Gain Seen with Different Antiretroviral Regimens [VIDEO]
- Details
- Category: GI, Metabolic & Lipodystrophy
- Published on Monday, 02 March 2015 00:00
- Written by Gregory Fowler
People starting antiretroviral therapy containing raltegravir (Isentress) and those starting boosted atazanavir (Reyataz) or darunavir (Prezista) experienced significant increases in both abdominal and limb fat, with no evidence of greater fat gains among those taking HIV protease inhibitors, according to findings presented at the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) last week in Seattle.

[Grace McComsey, CROI, February 26, 2015]
"We saw a significant increase in peripheral and central fat with all the regimens," McComsey said, describing results from the ACTG 5260s substudy at a CROI press conference. "We used to think protease inhibitors were associated with central fat accumulation, but here even an integrase inhibitor made patients gain as much fat."
She added, however, that people who started antiretroviral therapy before they experienced advanced immune suppression gained less fat, suggesting that this is another reason to start people on treatment "right away, regardless of CD4 count."
3/3/15
Reference
GA McComsey, C Moser, JS Currier, et al. Body Composition Changes After Initiation of Raltegravir or Protease Inhibitors . 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. Seattle, February 23-24, 2015. Abstract 140.
HIV Infection Linked to Increased Stroke Risk
- Details
- Category: Cardiovascular Disease
- Published on Wednesday, 30 May 2012 00:00
- Written by Liz Highleyman
HIV positive people may have a higher risk of stroke independent of traditional risk factors, with the largest relative increase among younger people and women, according to study findings published in the May 10, 2012, advance online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
CROI 2015: Putting On Too Much Weight After Starting ART Increases Chronic Inflammation
- Details
- Category: Experimental HIV Drugs
- Published on Friday, 27 February 2015 00:00
- Written by Theo Smart
A return to normal weight after starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) can be beneficial for very sick, underweight individuals living with HIV -- but further weight gain appears to increase markers of inflammation associated with metabolic complications and poorer survival, according to a study reported at the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) this week in Seattle.

CROI 2012: Crofelemer Reduces Diarrhea in People with HIV; FDA Grants Priority Review
- Details
- Category: GI, Metabolic & Lipodystrophy
- Published on Tuesday, 10 April 2012 00:00
- Written by Liz Highleyman
A plant compound known as crofelemer significantly decreased the frequency of secretory diarrhea in HIV positive patients, researchers reported at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2012) last month in Seattle. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given crofelemer priority review status and is expected to take action by early June.
FDA Approves Diarrhea Drug Crofelemer for People with HIV/AIDS
- Details
- Category: HIV-Related Conditions
- Published on Thursday, 03 January 2013 00:00
- Written by Liz Highleyman
On December 31, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved crofelemer (brand name Fulyzaq) for treatment of diarrhea in people with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART) -- the first approved medication for this indication.

Elevated Triglycerides and Waist Circumference Predict Cardiovascular Risk for People with HIV
- Details
- Category: Cardiovascular Disease
- Published on Tuesday, 11 October 2011 00:00
- Written by Liz Highleyman
HIV positive people with high triglyceride levels and large girth were more likely to have other risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease and events such heart attacks, suggesting that these 2 simple measures may be used to distinguish high-risk versus low-risk individuals, according to a study in the September 22, 2011, edition of the open access journal PLoS ONE.
HIV11: Lipid Levels Are Higher among HIV+ People on ART, Immune Suppression May Play a Role
- Details
- Category: HIV Treatment
- Published on Friday, 14 December 2012 00:00
- Written by Liz Highleyman
People with HIV on suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) have "considerably higher" blood lipid levels relative to untreated individuals or those on less effective treatment, researchers reported at the 11th International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection (HIV11) last month in Glasgow. They also found that greater immune deficiency, as indicated by lowest-ever CD4 count, was associated with lipid elevations.

CROI 2011: Reduced Limb Muscle, More Belly Fat Linked to Higher Mortality
- Details
- Category: GI, Metabolic & Lipodystrophy
- Published on Tuesday, 22 March 2011 02:10
- Written by Liz Highleyman
HIV positive people who lose muscle in their arms and legs while gaining abdominal fat are at increased risk of death, according to findings from the FRAM study presented at CROI 2011. 
Visceral Fat Reduction in HIV+ People on Tesamorelin Improves Metabolic Profile
- Details
- Category: Metabolic Problems
- Published on Friday, 22 June 2012 00:00
- Written by Liz Highleyman
The synthetic growth hormone-releasing factor tesamorelin (Egrifta) reduces internal abdominal fat in people with HIV, which in turn leads to improvements in lipid and glucose levels, researchers reported in the June 2012 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
GI, Metabolic & Lipodystrophy





























