Modern HIV drugs regimens not associated with fat loss in arms and legs

Researchers comfirmed that the use of hiv drug regiments is not associated with the loss of fats in the arms and legs fact, people tend to gain fat in their limbs,perhaps because their general health is improving.

 Former anti ritroviral regiments based on kivexa and truvada are associated with long term gains in limb fat. US investigators in july 15 edition of clinical infectious diseases.

                American researchers followed  269 people , who were starting hiv treatment for just under two years. People were radomly assigned to one of four different combinations of anti-hiv drugs.

The drugs used included abacavir and 3TC(in the combined pill kivexa),tenofovir and ftc (in the conbined pill truvada), efavirenz (sustiva), and ritonavir-boosted atazanavir(reyataz).

                Most of the patients (85 percent) were male and  47 percent were white.the median age at bas eline was 38 years, and median body mass index at this time was  24.9kg/m² median limb fat was 7.4kg, median trunk fat was 9.4kg, and median visceral adipose tissue was 84.1cm²

                At the  time hiv therapy was stated, the patients had a median cd4 cell count of 233 cells/mm and median viral load was 4.6 log₁₀ copies /ml.

At the end of the study body scan showed that limb fat levels had increased by an average of 23percent. People taking atazanavir gained more fat on their limbs than people taking efavinrenz.people who had a higher viral load to start with gain more fat, sugesting that they put on weight  as their  overall health improved.

 Only five percent of people lost more than twenty percent  of their limb fat.

                Lipodystrophy which is a term refering to changes in body fat and is a side effect of some hiv treatments. Lipodystophy includes both fat gain  and fat loss (from arms and legs, which makes the veins more prominent).

                Researchers say that their result provide reasurance that kivexa and truvada do not cause fat loss. Older drugs such as D4T(zidovudine, zerit) and AZT(zidovudine, retovir) are associated  with much higher rate of fat loss.

                However the study did find that people in the  study did also gained weight around the waist, including  in visceral fat. This is fat which accomulates around the internal organs causing  the belly to feel taut  and pushed out; it is tha kind of fat which may be a drug side-effect.

                Increases in viseral fat were larger in people taking the protease inhibitor atazanavir than in people taking efevirenz. Greater increase in visceral fat were also more common in people who were fatter to  begin with.