Evaluation of methods for measurement of facial fat in HIV infected patients with lipoatrophy

Abstract

Facial lipoatrophy is a common and stigmatising complication of HIV treatment. There is no established measurement method. This thesis aimed to develop methods for measuring facial fat changes for application in clinical research studies. A study of facial fat volume by MRI in lipoatrophy patients found substantial facial fat depeltion. A subsequent longitudinal study showed significant superficial facial fat decrease over time. An alternative method using three-dimensional laser scanning (LS) to measure cheek volume change was developed. The method was shown to be accurate and reproducible using a mannequin model. It was then validated against MRI and shown to be able to detect fat changes. The method was then applied to a 12-month longitudinal cohort of patients on treatment, and was found to be able to detect cheek surface changes over time. In summary, this work developed, evaluated and applied facial fat change measurement techniques in HIV related facial lipoatrophy.