A Closer Look at Egrifta, a Newly Approved Treatment for HIV-Associated Belly Fat Gain

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An Interview With Daniel Berger, M.D.

By Myles Helfand

November 11, 2010

For years now, it has been clear that HIV-positive people are especially prone to developing unusual increases of fat in specific parts of their bodies. What has been less clear is exactly what a person with this type of fat gain, known as lipohypertrophy, can do about it.

On Nov. 10, a new option was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Its name is Egrifta, known generically as tesamorelin. It is the first drug approved specifically for use by HIV-positive people with lipohypertrophy. Egrifta doesn't treat all kinds of fat gain -- it focuses on reducing fat gain in the belly area -- but its approval is historic nonetheless.

Daniel Berger, M.D., has been one of the HIV clinicians involved in studies of Egrifta prior to its approval. He is the medical director and founder of NorthStar Medical Center in Chicago, as well as a clinical associate professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Medicine. In this interview, he'll walk us through how Egrifta works, who should take it, and what else we know to date about the treatment of lipohypertrophy.



Full article: http://www.thebody.com/content/art59340.html?getPage=1