Lipodystrophy following hepatitis infection: a causative relationship?

Progressive partial lipodystrophy is a clinical syndrome characterized by progressive loss of subcutaneous fat. A 27-year-old female developed progressive loss of fat from the face and upper part of the torso associated with increased bulkiness of the body below the pelvis following an attack of hepatitis. She had been persistently hepatitis B surface antigen positive and her serum was positive for IgG antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen. Although the woman had hypocomplementaemia of the C3 component of complement, there was no evidence of renal involvement.