Protease inhibitors may cause fat abnormalities and heart disease

Disturbing changes in body fat distribution and rising cholesterol concentrations are being blamed on protease inhibitors, one of the most common class of drugs taken by people infected with HIV.

Data presented by several groups at the 12th world AIDS conference in Geneva confirms earlier reports that some people taking protease inhibitors are developing “buffalo humps” on their backs and truncal obesity (lipodystrophy), in addition to wasted limbs. The same drugs also seem to be affecting lipid concentrations, leading to a greater risk of premature heart disease. The two protease inhibitors which are most implicated in these metabolic changes …