Altara Lab Notes · Issue 3
Short answer
Tesamorelin is a growth hormone-releasing hormone analog that, in a 412-person randomized trial, reduced visceral fat on CT compared with placebo. Visceral fat fell 15.2% with tesamorelin and rose 5.0% with placebo (P<0.001).
- -15.2% Tesamorelin (fat decreased)
- +5.0% Placebo (fat increased)
Randomized human trial. Source: Falutz et al., N Engl J Med 2007.
What did Falutz et al. (2007) find?
Falutz et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2007. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial of 412 adults with HIV on antiretroviral therapy and abdominal fat accumulation (86% men), run for 26 weeks. The primary endpoint was percent change in visceral adipose tissue on CT.
- Human trial: Visceral fat fell 15.2% with tesamorelin and rose 5.0% with placebo (P<0.001).
- Blood lipids: Triglycerides changed by -50 mg/dL vs. +9 mg/dL with placebo; the total cholesterol:HDL ratio by -0.31 vs. +0.21 (both P<0.001).
- IGF-1: Rose 81.0% with tesamorelin and fell 5.0% with placebo (P<0.001), consistent with the growth-hormone axis being engaged.
- Follow-up: In a 52-week extension reported at CROI 2008, the visceral fat reduction was largely not maintained in participants switched to placebo.
Why do researchers study Tesamorelin?
- Tesamorelin is a synthetic analog of growth hormone-releasing hormone, making it a well-studied tool for probing the GH/IGF-1 axis.
- The trial paired a fat-compartment readout (CT-measured visceral fat) with metabolic markers, a useful template for how such questions are studied.
What are the limitations of this study?
This was a 26-week trial in a specific population: adults with HIV and abdominal fat accumulation, mostly men. Results are changes in body composition and lab markers, not clinical outcomes, and they should not be generalized to other groups. The extension suggested the effect depended on continued exposure.
Source
Falutz et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2007. Read the full paper
For educational and scientific information only. Findings are described as published research results, not as claims about use in people. Altara Bio products are sold strictly for laboratory research purposes and are not for human or animal consumption. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.
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