Lipodystophy

Vitamins

Answers from Dr. Kaiser

Question:

I have had AIDS for 13 years now. A couple of OI's along the way. But basically I’ve been always healthy. This is my third year of the protease inhibitors and I am beginning to get a 'potbelly' probably due to a side effect known as Lipodystophy. Do you have a current protocol or information I can use to suppress or overcome this problem?

Dr. Kaiser replies:

Lipodystrophy is really a term that is used for two different side effects of antiviral medication use. One is the loss of fat tissue in the face and extremities (arms and legs). This is appropriately called “Lipoatrophy”.

The second type is appropriately called fat accumulation or “Lipohypertrophy”. This is the one you are referring to in your question. This side effect can be effectively treated in many cases without making a change in your antiviral medications. My protocol includes the following:

Using a very low fat, low sugar, high protein diet
Going on my exact vitamin protocol to improve the ability of the liver and pancreas to process fats and sugars more appropriately
Exercising at least every other day with a 50/50 balance of aerobic and resistance exercises
Utilizing anabolic hormone supplements to maximize muscle mass and minimize fat production as described in the chapter of my book on hormone balancing
Considering the use of medications to diminish insulin resistance (e.g. metformin, rosiglitazone)
And finally possibly adding the use of low dose human growth hormone to all of the above.

In this fashion I have been extremely successful in reversing the effects of fat accumulation that you describe. In certain situations, I have also been successful in introducing a treatment interruption of several months without seeing a rise in the patients viral load or a decline in their CD4 counts however my protocol for this is still in development and will be reported on in my free E-Newsletter (subscribe using the form on the right hand column) at a subsequent time. Thanks for your question.

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