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HIV wasting syndrome ranks as the second most frequent diagnosis in AIDS during the six months prior to death. The incidence of wasting as an AIDS-defining illness in adults with HIV infection is 9%. Loss HIV wasting syndrome, HIV, wasting syndrome, AIDS of >30% of body cell mass is as poor a prognostic indicator as is a CD4 count of less than 50 cells/µL.
Pathophysiology of Wasting and Weight Loss in AIDS
The primary cause of HIV-associated wasting is HIV infection. Aggressive antiretroviral therapy may reverse the underlying process and obviate the need for palliative measures.
Hypermetabolism, defined as an increased resting energy expenditure occurs in all stages of HIV infection. In addition, there is a failure of the normal adaptive mechanisms in weight loss, resulting from an altered milieu of endogenous cytokines (tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-2, interleukin-12) and sometimes HIV Wasting Syndrome AIDS HIV Wasting Syndrome AIDS.