Acquired Lipodystrophy
What Is Acquired Lipodystrophy?
Lipodystrophy is a problem with the way your body uses and stores fat. It's called acquired when you aren't born with it. It often affects the fat under your skin, so it can change the way you look. And it can also cause other changes in your body.
Some people with HIV get lipodystrophy (LD-HIV). It may be related to the medicines they take or the disease itself. Learn more about lipodystrophy and HIV.
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Other acquired lipodystrophies are:
- Acquired generalized lipodystrophy (AGL), or Lawrence syndrome
- Acquired partial lipodystrophy (APL), also called progressive lipodystrophy or Barraquer-Simons syndrome
- Localized lipodystrophy
AGL often shows up in children, but adults can get it, too. APL typically starts around age 8-10. Both of these affect girls 3 times more often than boys. Both cause fat loss from the face, so she may look sick or much older than she is.
Localized lipodystrophy can happen to anyone at any age. A small dimple of localized lipodystrophy may look odd, but it probably won't cause any other trouble.
However, because fat tissue makes leptin, people with larger areas of acquired lipodystrophy might not have enough of this hormone. Leptin tells your body you've eaten enough and to make insulin. Fat could also build up in places it shouldn't, like the blood, heart, liver, and kidneys. Depending on which type of lipodystrophy she has, it may cause other problems, including diabetes, high cholesterol and triglycerides, liver disease, and kidney failure.
Doctors can help you manage these complications. And cosmetic surgery might be an option if looks are a concern.
Causes
Often doctors don't know what causes acquired lipodystrophy, but some triggers are:
- An infection, such as measles, pneumonia, infectious mononucleosis, or hepatitis
- A disease where your immune system attacks your body (called an autoimmune disease)
- Repeated injections in or pressure on the same place
- An injury
For example, people with diabetes who have to use insulin daily tend to get localized lipodystrophy where they keep giving themselves shots. That's a good reason to change your injection site often.