is stavudine to blame?
The ALBI Trial studied 151 patients assigned to 6 months of various combinations of NRTIs. Patients were allowed to switch therapy as required. Patients switched at varying degrees to protease inhibitors and NNRTIs. Thirty-five percent of patients had at least one morphologic change, but researchers noted that prevalence at 30 months was twice as high in the group randomized to the stavudine and didanosine arm than in the groups assigned to the other NRTI combinations (Abstract 19). Another study reported morphologic changes in terms of either fat wasting, fat accumulation or mixed. Among 149 protease inhibitor naïve patients taking NRTIs, approximately 39% had one morphologic change. Use of stavudine and duration of treatment were strongly associated with the changes. (Abstract 20.) M/M changes: is time on drugs or time since diagnosis a factor? One of the more interesting studies presented in this area was one that looked at the incidence of fat redistribution and metabolic abnormali
