Lipodystrophy syndrome(s)

November 2001     View PDF     En español

Mitochondria and anti-HIV therapy

Early results from a small study show that people on NRTIs have fewer mitochondria in cells compared to HIV-positive people not taking NRTIs or HIV-negative people. Fewer mitochondria were only seen among people taking d4T (stavudine, Zerit) and not among people on other NRTIs. The average number of mitochondria decreased by 44%. One interesting but unexplained observation was that people with fat loss in the face, arms or legs (lipoatrophy) had fewer mitochondria while people who developed a buffalo hump had an increased number.

Another recent study also looked at the number of mitochondria in cells. Forty people participated, ten with fat wasting (group A), ten without signs of fat redistribution (B), ten never on anti-HIV therapy (C) and ten HIV-negative people (D). The number of mitochondria was looked at from tissue samples from the back of the neck, abdomen and mid-thigh.

The study found that people in group A had fewer mitochondria than those in group B who, in turn, had fewer mitochondria than groups C or D. No differences in the number of mitochondria were found in cells between groups C or D. This study suggests that fewer mitochondria result from anti-HIV therapy and not HIV disease itself.