The Effect of Anti-HIV Treatment on Body Characteristics of HIV-Infected Children

The purpose of this study is to see how beginning or changing anti-HIV medications affects the body composition (weight, height, growth, body fat, and muscle mass, or fat and muscle distribution) of HIV-infected children. This study also looks at how changes in body composition relate to changes in viral load (level of HIV in the blood), CD4 cell counts, height, and weight in HIV-infected children. This study also compares changes in body composition to levels of cytokines (proteins in the body that affect some immune cells) in HIV-infected children who are beginning or changing anti-HIV therapy. Though studies have been done on adults, little is known about the effects of HIV infection and anti-HIV drugs on body composition in children. One theory is that changes in body composition can predict the failure of anti-HIV treatment. If this is true, body composition measurements can be as useful as CD4+ cell counts in determining drug effectiveness.