American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Publishes Lipodystrophy Consensus Statement

To Assist Health Care Professionals in the Clinical Approach to Detecting Patients at Risk for Lipodystrophy

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) today issued a consensus statement outlining recommended clinical approaches to the detection of lipodystrophy (LD), a seemingly rare condition characterized by complete or partial lack of fat cells which affect the way the body manages and stores fat as energy.

“Thus, our statement examines the various types and clinical presentations of lipodystrophy to improve detection of the disease and help the clinician identify people whose lipodystrophy may not be visually apparent to ensure patients receive appropriate workup and management.”

The consensus statement was developed by a task force of AACE, comprised of physicians from the NIH and academic centers who are expert researchers in lipodystrophy, its diagnosis and management, and physician clinicians who are experts in identifying and managing severe metabolic conditions in particular diabetes and lipid disorders. The goal of the statement is to increase awareness of the condition’s presence and improve the clinician’s ability in detecting patients at risk for lipodystrophy. Although recognizing generalized forms of the condition are more apparent in very young age, select forms of lipodystrophy, in particular partial LD, may be underdiagnosed. The consensus provides a clinical framework for identifying people at risk and provides criteria to help the clinician in the office detect a patient at risk to refer, as needed, for further workup and therapeutic management. The statement is featured in Volume 19, Number 1, January/February 2013 issue of Endocrine Practice, AACE’s peer-reviewed journal.

“As opposed to more common metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, lipodystrophy is such an uncommon condition that it is not unusual for patients to escape diagnosis until late in the course of their disease,” says Yeduha Handelsman, M.D., F.A.C.E., F.A.C.P., F.L.N.A., co-chair of the AACE task force and lead author of the consensus statement. “Thus, our statement examines the various types and clinical presentations of lipodystrophy to improve detection of the disease and help the clinician identify people whose lipodystrophy may not be visually apparent to ensure patients receive appropriate workup and management.”

The symptom that most often leads to a diagnosis in lypodystrophy is the loss of fat tissue, which can be prominent enough to be instantly recognizable to a knowledgeable physician. Some forms can be more subtle, requiring the clinician to consider the presence of the condition in patients who present with difficult-to-treat metabolic abnormalities. However, not all patients display these abnormalities upon examination. Thus, the task force developed a group of core clinical characteristics and supportive evidence that should alert clinicians to the possible presence of lipodystrophy.

To review the complete consensus statement, visit https://www.aace.com/files/lipodstrophy-cs.pdf

About the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE)

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) represents more than 6,500 endocrinologists in the United States and abroad. AACE is the largest association of clinical endocrinologists in the world. The majority of AACE members are certified in Endocrinology and Metabolism and concentrate on the treatment of patients with endocrine and metabolic disorders including diabetes, thyroid disorders, osteoporosis, growth hormone deficiency, cholesterol disorders, hypertension and obesity. For more information about AACE, visit the AACE website at www.aace.com, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theaace or follow AACE on Twitter at www.twitter.com/theaace.