currently very healthy.On Epzicom and Lexiva. experiencing somefat loss..minor.in face and limbs. becomng abit depressed and vey unhappy. want to be taken off drugs for sometime. see how my body might change. will I regain some fats in my face and limbs and butt. i really want to do this. What do you think? Can I regain some fatty tissues? doctor tried to talk me out of it. said i would not regain.my overall weight is o.k could use 5-10 lbs,but my concern is face etc.

There is little to no published data reporting a return of facial fat after stopping a regimen such as Epzicom and Lexiva which is considered a fairly fat friendly regimen. There is published data noting an increased risk for both AIDS and non-AIDS clinical events after stopping effective antiretroviral therapy (CD4 counts usually immediately starts dropping and viral load rebounds) so that strategy can not be endorsed as proven safe or effective (still being evaluated in research studies). Many of my own patients with loss of facial fat who are now on regimens such as ours had previously been on regimens more linked to facial fat loss (such as AZT or D4T containing regimens) and their facial fat loss stabilized but did not clearly or consistently reverse when switched to newer regimens. How to physiologically reverse facial fat loss (as opposed to plastic surgery approaches) remains an enigma. In some cases the fat cells may have become apoptotic (died off) so the cellular environment would be difficult to reconstruct. This topic is very important and is getting lots of attention but remains highly frustrating for now. Uridine supplements are being studied for effect on fat loss for patients still taking thymidine analogues (D4T or AZT) by the ACTG in the US and other groups. KH