Familial Partial Lipodystrophy: A Case Study and Review of Recent Literature

Introduction: Familial partial lipodystrophy (FPLD) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue, mainly from the extremities and gluteal region. FPLD is associated with a variety of metabolic abnormalities including severe hypertriglyceridemia (HTG), insulin resistance (IR), and hepatic steatosis. We present a case of FPLD and summarize recent literature on the metabolic features and their management in patients with this rare disease. Case: A 44 year old female with medical history of Type 2 DM, hypertension, hypothyroidism and recurrent pancreatitis from severe HTG was referred to our clinic. She was diagnosed with Type 2 DM in her 30s. Over the ensuing years she had significant IR requiring increasing doses of concentrated insulin (up to 250 units/day). She reported progressive loss of subcutaneous fat from extremities in the preceding 2–3 years. She had recurrent pancreatitis, including a recent hospitalization with TG>8000 mg/dL. On examination, she had typical features of FPLD including loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue from upper and lower extremities including gluteal region, visible skeletal muscles and veins in the extremities, and neck and truncal obesity (Fig. 1). Family history was significant for similar physical and metabolic manifestations in her father and brother. For HTG, she is treated with fibrates and high intensity statin. We avoided the use of fish oil in the patient, because she did not feel well when she was previously on this. Results of the genetic testing are pending. Discussion: FPLD is rare, predominantly autosomal dominant, disorder characterized phenotypically by variable loss of subcutaneous fat and metabolically by severe HTG and insulin resistance. The severity of metabolic derangements is proportional to the degree of the lipodystrophy. The proposed mechanism is limited capacity of adipose tissue to store fat leading to ectopic fat deposition, lipotoxicity and vascular inflammation. Diagnosis is often clinical, especially the loss of subcutaneous fat in the extremities and signs of IR, and is confirmed by genetic testing. Dunnigan syndrome is the most common type of FPLD, which occurs from an autosomal dominant missense mutation in lamin A/C (LMNA). Gene mutations encoding for PPAR-gamma, Akt2, CIDEC, perilipin and the ZMPSTE 24 enzyme are much less common. Treatment of FPLD is challenging, and mostly focuses on managing the metabolic abnormalities. Recent evidence suggests that fish oil may in fact worsen HTG when the main defect driving increased TG is impaired chylomicron clearance, which our patient had on lipid NMR profile. Metreleptin, a human leptin analog, has recently been approved for the management of FPLD with evidence of improved metabolic abnormalities. Recent data also suggests that GLP1 agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors improved glycemic control and reduced daily insulin requirements.