Adipose tissue may atrophy as a result of prolonged periods of undernutrition or, in a localized area, from injury. Atrophy in a specific area is known as lipodystrophy and is sometimes a primary symptom of a disease of unknown origin that mainly affects women. Frequently beginning at a young age, victims of the disease suffer the progressive wasting of adipose tissue. The face, arms, and trunk are the areas most affected as the number of their specialized fat-holding cells drastically diminishes.