Tesamorelin: Benefits & Research

Tesamorelin's primary FDA-approved benefit is the reduction of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) — the metabolically dangerous fat surrounding internal organs. Pivotal trial findings:

• 15–18% reduction in VAT measured by CT scan at 26 weeks
• Significant reduction in trunk fat and waist circumference
• Minimal change in subcutaneous fat (the fat under the skin)
• Effects are specific to visceral fat, not general weight loss

Visceral fat is more metabolically active than subcutaneous fat and is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Selectively reducing VAT while preserving lean mass is a unique clinical benefit.

Research published in The Lancet HIV demonstrated tesamorelin's effect on hepatic fat:

• 37% reduction in hepatic fat fraction in HIV-positive patients with NAFLD
• Prevented progression of liver fibrosis
• Improvements in liver enzymes (ALT, AST)

These findings are significant because NAFLD affects approximately 25% of the global population and few pharmacological treatments have demonstrated meaningful liver fat reduction. Tesamorelin's effect on liver fat is independent of its visceral fat reduction and appears to involve direct GH-mediated hepatic fat oxidation.

A study published in Archives of Neurology examined tesamorelin's effects on cognitive function in older adults (ages 55-87). Results showed:

• Improved executive function (ability to plan, organize, and multitask)
• Improved verbal memory
• Effects correlated with IGF-1 level increases
• Benefits were observed in both healthy older adults and those with mild cognitive impairment

These findings support the hypothesis that age-related GH/IGF-1 decline contributes to cognitive deterioration, and that restoring physiological GH levels may have neuroprotective effects.

Tesamorelin-treated patients showed improvements in cardiovascular risk markers:

• Reduced triglycerides
• Improved total cholesterol/HDL ratio
• Reduced C-reactive protein (inflammatory marker)

These improvements are largely secondary to visceral fat reduction, as VAT is a major driver of dyslipidemia and systemic inflammation. The unique benefit compared to sermorelin is tesamorelin's stronger clinical evidence base from FDA-quality trials.