CORRELATION BETWEEN SERUM INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH-FACTOR-1 (IGF(1)) CONCENTRATIONS AND NUTRITIONAL-STATUS IN HIV-INFECTED INDIVIDUALS

The usefulness of serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF(1)) determin ations as an estimate of nutritional status in HIV-infected individual s is unclear. Serum IGF(1) levels were correlated with measurements of total body potassium (TBK), a measure of body cell mass, and changes in TBK in 32 subjects including 18 AIDS patients, 4 HIV seronegative a nd 5 seropositive asymptomatic homosexual male controls, and 5 HIV ser onegative heterosexual controls. Longitudinal follow-up of body compos ition including measurements of TBK, body fat content, serum IGF,, and albumin concentrations was determined in the AIDS group and in demons trated subgroups of AIDS patients with progressive depletion, stable b ody composition, and those undergoing repletion. IGF(1) levels correla ted with serum albumin levels (r = 0.66, p < 0.001), and with body cel l mass as normalized TBK/height (r = 0.55, p < 0.001). IGF(1) levels w ere lower in the AIDS groups than in the control groups (p < 0.05), an d differed among the subgroups of AIDS patients: repleting patients ha d higher concentrations than stable or depleting patients. IGF(1) leve ls may be a convenient way to predict the course of nutritional status in an HIV-infected individual.