having described the various components of the ras above , it will be apparent that the system can be inhibited at various points . in principle , it is expected that any sufficiently non - toxic compound which is bioavailable and active to inhibit the ras system at any suitable point can be used in the invention . this invention contemplates the administration of all such agents ( either singly or in combination with each other and / or with other classes of pharmacological agents ), and also of pro - drugs which are converted in vivo to an active agent which inhibits ras activity . note that ras inhibition need not be total inhibition ; rather , sufficient inhibition to be beneficial in the invention is all that is required . in practice , it is preferred at the present state of knowledge to use in the practice of the invention any of the known ras inhibitors which are either on the market or under investigation for their antihypertensive effects . many inhibitors of the renin - angiotensin system are licensed or under investigation for use in humans in the united kingdom and are compounds whose use is preferred in the practice of the invention . they include the ace - inhibitors quinapril , captopril , lisinopril , perindopril , trandolapril , enalapril , moexipril , fosinopril , ramipril , cilazapril , imidapril , spirapril , temocapril , benazepril , alacepril , ceronapril , cilazapril , delapril , enalaprilat and moveltipril . suitable angiotensin ii - inhibitors include losartan , valsartan , irbesartan , candesartan , eprosartan , tasosartan and telmisartan . the specific compounds listed may be useful in accordance with the invention in their free form , for example as the free acid or base as the case may be , and they may be useful as acid addition salts , esters , n - oxides or other derivatives as appropriate . the use of suitable pro - drugs ( whether themselves active or inactive ) and the use of active metabolites of ras inhibitors are also within the scope of the invention . for example , alacepril is a pro - drug for captopril , and enalaprilat is an active metabolite of enalapril . although ace inhibitors and angiotensin ii - receptor antagonists are presently the most widely developed classes of drugs suitable for use in the present invention , the invention is by no means limited to their use . ace inhibitors may work through both a reduction in atii formation and through a reduction in kinin metabolism . other agents may also inhibit kinin degradation , and as such have similarly beneficial effects . these classes of drugs include inhibitors of neutral endopeptidases , some of which also of ace - inhibitory properties . the invention thus contemplates the use of all kininase - inhibitors and kinin receptor antagonists ( such as bradykinin ). the compounds for use in the invention are preferably lipophilic . however , the invention contemplates the use of compounds which are essentially non - lipophilic , or only moderately lipophilic , but which have been rendered more lipophilic either chemically , such as by appropriate derivatisation , or physically , such as by formulation with lipophilic carriers or delivery systems . administration of the active agent may be by any suitable route . as is conventional for ace inhibitors at least , oral administration may be preferred , especially for the purposes of achieving a prophylactic or preventative effect . in certain circumstances , especially when a more immediate effect is required , intravenous administration may be preferred . suitable formulations for intravenous administration will be evident to those skilled in the art . the optimum frequency of dosage and duration of treatment may also be established experimentally and / or clinically . again by way of example , oral imidapril may be given once daily for an appropriate period of time . frequencies of dosage for other compounds useful in the invention will vary , and will depend on , among other things , the pharmacokinetics of the compound in question . in a preferred embodiment , the inhibitor is administered more than once a day in order to avoid peak inhibition of plasma ace activity whilst maximising tissue concentration . altematively , an oral , subcutaneous or intramuscular slow release formulation may be provided to achieve the same effect . the preferred therapy is for patients being co - administered anti - retroviral therapy . the patients are most likely therefore to be hiv - infected ( without aids symptoms ) or suffering from aids . the anti - retroviral therapy may be protease inhibitors and / or nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors . the anti - retroviral compounds do not need to be administered at the same time as the inhibitors of the renin - angiotensin system . it is sufficient that the patient has been administered the anti - retrovirals . it is also not necessary that the patient is actually suffering from cachexia modified by lipodystrophy or the lipodystrophy syndrome , as the intended therapy may have a prophylactic effect . the following study is intended to illustrate the utility of the invention . in order to evaluate the invention , a multi - centre , double - blind , placebo - controlled , randomised , parallel group , study is conducted . patients are evaluated at a screening visit for signs of lipodystrophy as assessed by a patient and investigator questionnaire . subjects considered eligible have a fasting blood sample taken for the measurement of serum triglyceride and ace genotyping . in addition , blood samples are drawn for glucose , nefa and insulin measurements at 0 ( after at least an 8 hour fast ), 15 , 30 , 60 and 120 mins after an oral glucose load . patients are randomised into two groups : 25 patients receive three times daily treatment with placebo , and 25 patients receive three times daily treatment with imidapril hydrochloride ( 6 . 66 mg dose ). each patient is tested on seven more occasions during the study , at 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 8 and 12 weeks after the start of treatment , and again for a safety evaluation between 7 and 14 days of the last visit . at all post - baseline visits , a fasting blood sample is drawn for clinical chemistry and haematology . at week 12 , glucose , nefa and insulin levels are again measured at 0 ( after an 8 hour fast ), 15 , 30 , 60 and 120 mins after an oral glucose load . at all visits except weeks 1 and 3 , weight , lean body mass , percentage body fat , waist , hip , thigh and arm circumferences , and skinfold thickness are measured using bioimpedence and anthropomorphic methods . vital signs ( blood pressure and heart rate ) and compliance with the study medication are measured at each visit . at weeks 8 and 12 , the patient and physician are required to complete another questionnaire . at week 12 , another full body dexa scan is taken ( no later than five days after the end of treatment ). patients who withdraw from the study prior to the week 12 visit complete all assessments in the week 12 visit . the withdrawal assessment takes place as soon as possible after stopping treatment but no more than 7 days after withdrawal . all subjects have a safety evaluation conducted 1 - 2 weeks after discontinuation of study drug . since imidapril is an antihypertensive agent , dose - dependent decreases in blood pressure may be observed . all patients receive 6 . 66 mg of imidapril hydrochloride or matched placebo three times daily . if the 6 . 66 mg dose level of imidapril hydrochloride or matched placebo is nottolerated , the dose may be decreased to 3 . 33 mg three times daily for the duration of the study . if the 3 . 33 mg dose level of imidapril hydrochloride or matched placebo is not tolerated , the patient is withdrawn .
an inhibitor of the rennin - angiotensin system is useful for the treatment or prevention of the lipodystrophy syndrome , e . g . in aids patients also receiving anti - retroviral therapy .