Anabolic steroids may be beneficial in the treatment of weight loss in HIV-infected individuals. Anabolic steroids include testosterone and its derivatives. One of the functions of testosterone is to help build muscle. Testosterone has been demonstrated to increase muscle mass and lean body mass in testosterone-deficient but otherwise healthy men. Individuals with HIV infection often lose weight and have low blood levels of testosterone; thus, the use of anabolic steroids in the treatment of weight loss in individuals with HIV infection may be beneficial.
The purpose of this review was to evaluate anabolic steroids as a means of treatment of weight loss in individuals with HIV infection. The review includes 13 randomized clinical trials in the primary analysis. The results suggested that anabolic steroids increased both lean body mass and body weight.
However, the results were not consistent among individual trials and the average increase was small and may not be clinically relevant. Furthermore, the results need to be interpreted with caution as this meta-analysis was limited due to small sample sizes; short duration of treatment and of follow-up; and heterogeneity of the study populations, the anabolic interventions, and concomitant therapies.
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