Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry Study of Body Composition in Patients With Lipodystrophy

Lipodystrophies are acquired or inherited disorders characterized by selective or generalized loss of adipose tissue. Affected patients are predisposed to insulin resistance and metabolic complications of insulin resistance (1). Noticeably, patients with acquired or hereditary generalized forms are extremely insulin resistant (2,3). On the other hand, in partial forms the ample phenotypic spectrum determines clinical presentations and metabolic profiles of variable degrees (4). Among diagnostic resources for fat distribution evaluation, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) has been utilized because of its accuracy, reproducibility, and good correlation with computerized tomography (5,6). The purpose of this study was to evaluate body composition with DEXA in patients with different types of lipodystrophy and to determine the correlation between densitometric, clinical, and metabolic features. Five female patients with lipodystrophy phenotype had been studied, selected from an outpatient clinic. Three patients had diabetes (patients 1, 4, and 5). Laboratory evaluation was performed. Patients signed an informed consent, and the ethical committee of the institution approved this study. Whole-body DEXA scans were obtained at DENSSO laboratory with GE Lunar Prodigy Advance software, version 9.5, LNR 41569 model. The relevant results are depicted in Table 1. Plasma leptin was markedly diminished, consistent with body fat mass. All patients exhibited severe hepatic steatosis at ultrasound study. ### Case reports #### Patient 1. Patient 1 was a 42 year-old woman who first noticed fat redistribution after her first pregnancy. She was diagnosed for hypertension and type …