By Adam Garcia
Today in Diabetic Dictionary we will discuss the term lipoatrophy and how it affects diabetics.
Lipoatrophy (LIP-oh-AT-ruh-fee) is small depressions in the subcutaneous tissues just under the skin. In other words, this is a loss of fat under the skin resulting in small dents.
Lipoatrophy may be caused by repeated injections of insulin in the same spot. Injecting around the depressed area can very slowly fill in the depression (over a period of many months). In order to avoid lipoatrophy it is best to use rotation. Rotation within the selected site of insulin injection is important to prevent the breakdown and scarring of fat tissue under the skin. By rotating within the site selected rather than between multiple sites on the body, the absorption of insulin remains relatively constant.
Also, researchers have found that jet-injection devices might be a helpful method to treat those affected by severe human insulin-induced lipoatrophy.
The research came from a study of a 21-year-old woman who developed type I diabetes with mild ketosis in 1990. It is reported that she was treated with insulin doses three times a day. After two years, lipoatrophy occurred around injection sites including the abdominal wall, thighs, left arm, and buttocks. It was especially severe on the right arm.
After eight months of using a jet injector to administer the insulin, avoiding those areas more severely affected, there were no more new lesions of lipoatrophy. (S. Logwin et al., Diabetes Care 19:255-6, Mar. 1996)
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