The metabolic syndrome is multi-dimensional and is being reported as elevations of certain blood fats, known as triglycerides and cholesterol, and resistance to insulin being produced in the body, which can cause diabetes. Other problems are unusual body fat redistribution, known as trunk obesity, breast enlargement in women, and buffalo hump on the upper back of the neck. Still, even though the answers to the metabolic complications are coming slowly, the need for treatment has become a serious problem. Last week, the important issue of how to treat some of the metabolic issues was added to the FCHR agenda at the meeting due to pressure from ACT UP Golden Gate in San Francisco. A full report of the meeting will be published in two weeks.
Metabolic issues are incredibly complex.
With each year, each new finding only brings more questions. Many of the mechanisms behind how we process our nutrients and the way we study them are seriously problematic in HIV because there are many holes in the understanding of the cause of the syndrome. Indeed, the Forum has had difficulty coming up with a clear definition because there are so many different, overlapping syndromes. Sorting out the definition and the cause has been the focus for metabolic researchers, but people with HIV are begging for treatments today that they are already using. Because of the scare, people with HIV are also deciding to stop their therapies whether their drug regimens are successful or not.