Contribution of Nucleoside-Analogue Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor Therapy to Lipoatrophy from the Population to the Cellular Level

Abstract

Severity of subcutaneous fat wasting is primarily determined by choice of NRTI therapy (stavudine versus zidovudine) and by duration of exposure to the relevant NRTI. At the cellular level, evidence is provided that this effect manifests through NRTI-induced mitochondrial DNA depletion.