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Vulvovaginal atrophy (WA) is a common and underreported condition associated with decreased estrogenization of the vaginal tissue. Symptoms include dryness, irritation, soreness, and dyspareunia with urinary frequency, urgency, and urge [...]

ABSTRACT Sculptra[R] (Sanofi-Aventis, Bridgewater, NJ) was approved by the U.S. Food Drug Administration (FDA) for use in HIV-related lipoatrophy in 2004 and received FDA approval for cosmetic use as Sculptra [...]

ABSTRACT Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) has been available to the European medical community as a treatment for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-associated facial lipoatrophy for nearly a decade, gaining U.S. Food and [...]

Osteopontin (OPN), a multifunctional secreted phosphoglycoprotein, plays diverse roles in bone biology, immune regulation, cell survival, inflammation, and cancer metastasis. Here we show its role in determining lymphocyte homeostasis and body mass in response to hindlimb unloading (HU), a model for evaluating effects of weightlessness on the musculoskeletal and other physiological systems. Using this stress model, we compared OP[N.sup.-/-] mice with OP[N.sup.+/+] mice subjected to HU for 3 days. Whereas OP[N.sup.+/+] mice suffered a marked reduction of body weight and significant spleen and thymus atrophy, OP[N.sup.-/-] mice exhibited minor weight loss and much less spleen and thymus atrophy. The HU-induced lymphoid organ atrophy was the result of dramatically diminished numbers, respectively, ofT and B cells in the spleen and CD[4.sup.+]CD[8.sup.+] double-positive cells in the thymus of OP[N.sup.+/+] mice. Increased levels of corticosterone, which modulates lymphocyte activation responses and apoptosis during stress, were found only in OP[N.sup.+/+] mice. Apoptotic cell death was evident in the spleen and thymus of OP[N.sup.+/+] mice subjected to HU but not in OP[N.sup.-/-] mice. Importantly, lymphocytes from both OP[N.sup.+/+] and OP[N.sup.-/-] mice were equally sensitive to corticosteroid-induced apoptosis. These results reveal that OPN is required for enhanced corticosterone production, immune organ atrophy, and weight loss in mice subjected to HU. apoptosis | immune | stress | lymphocytes | space flight

We previously demonstrated that HIV infection is associated with peripheral and central lipoatrophy in women. We now describe the association of specific antiretroviral drugs (ARV) with body fat changes over a four-year period from 1999 to 2003. 775 HIV-positive and 205 HIV-negative women in the Women's Interagency HIV Study with anthropometric measurements, weight, bioelectric impedance analysis and ARV collected semiannually were included in analysis. Exposure to ARV was defined as report of use for 3 consecutive semiannual study visits. The average 6-month change in weight, percent total body fat, and circumference measurements (i.e., hip, waist, chest, arm, and thigh) was compared between those exposed and those unexposed to the specific ARV for any of the same three consecutive visits. Weight, percent total body fat, and hip, waist, thigh, chest, and arm circumferences decreased in HIV-positive women, but increased in HIV-negative women on average for every six-month interval over the 4-year study period. Among the HIV-positive women, didanosine was the only ARV associated with decreases in circumference measures in the hip (-0.65 cm, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.18, -0.12), waist (-0.71 cm, 95% CI: -1.37, -0.04), chest (-0.71 cm, 95% CI: -1.17, -0.26), and arm (-0.23 cm, 95% CI: -0.48, 0.03; p = 0.08). These prospective data suggest that fat loss continues to predominate in HIV-positive women and exposure to didanosine for at least 12 months may further worsen fat loss.

The association between chronic inflammation and cancer is now well established. This association has recently received renewed interest with the recognition that microbial pathogens can be responsible for the chronic [...]

A case study of a 30-year-old woman who developed cerebellar atrophy after the severe deterioration of cardiac and respiratory functions resulting from undernutrition is reported. The exact relationship between eating disorders and cerebellar atrophy are unclear but there is a possibility that the latter may be induced by life-threatening undernutrition.

A 21-year-old man with a history of hemochromatosis and chronic heart failure presented with a 6-month history of weight loss (13.5 kg), fatigue, and generalized weakness. On physical examination, he [...]