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Tesa Peptides

A research-curriculum digest of the tesamorelin literature — the GHRH-analogue peptide laid out module by module, with the visceral-fat trials, the regulatory scope, and the honest gaps charted like a syllabus.

Where can you check each source?

Tesamorelin References: Where Can You Check a Claim?

A bracketed number beside a claim matches one source below. Follow that source when you want to read the full report.

Return to the study findingsReview the belly-fat work

How can you check a tesamorelin claim?

The tesamorelin references below name every study, review, and government source used here. Each bracketed number beside a claim matches the same number in this list.

You can use that match on the research, belly-fat, dose, comparison, and FAQ pages. Open the source link when you want the full paper.

The first entries include a 2007 paper from large late-stage work, called Phase 3. They also include a 52-week HIV study, a 2014 liver-fat study, and a 2011 study of healthy men.

Other entries cover how long the drug stays in blood and what a federal safety review found. There are more reviews, an animal heart study, and work from 2024-2026.

The last group includes a review that combined five fair tests. Each entry gives a direct study link when one is available.

  1. Falutz J, Allas S, Blot K, Potvin D, Kotler D, Somero M, Berger D, et al. Metabolic effects of a growth hormone-releasing factor in patients with HIV. N Engl J Med. 2007;357(23):2359-2370. ↗
  2. Falutz J, Allas S, Mamputu JC, Potvin D, Kotler D, Somero M, Berger D, Brown S, Richmond G, Fessel J, Turner R, Grinspoon S. Long-term safety and effects of tesamorelin, a growth hormone-releasing factor analogue, in HIV patients with abdominal fat accumulation. AIDS. 2008;22(14):1719-1728. ↗
  3. Stanley TL, Feldpausch MN, Oh J, Branch KL, Lee H, Torriani M, Grinspoon SK. Effect of tesamorelin on visceral fat and liver fat in HIV-infected patients with abdominal fat accumulation: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2014;312(4):380-389. ↗
  4. Stanley TL, Chen CY, Branch KL, Makimura H, Grinspoon SK. Effects of a growth hormone-releasing hormone analog on endogenous GH pulsatility and insulin sensitivity in healthy men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011;96(1):150-158. ↗
  5. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Tesamorelin. In: LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. Bethesda (MD): NCBI Bookshelf (NIH); 2018. ↗
  6. Rahman F, McLaughlin T, Mesquita P, Morin J, Potvin D, De Chantal M, Aberg JA. Effect of tesamorelin in people with HIV with and without dorsocervical fat: post hoc analysis of phase III double-blind placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Transl Sci. 2023;7(1):e40. ↗
  7. Dhillon S. Tesamorelin: a review of its use in the management of HIV-associated lipodystrophy. Drugs. 2011;71(8):1071-1091. ↗
  8. Sivakumar T, et al. Growth hormone axis treatments for HIV-associated lipodystrophy: a systematic review of placebo-controlled trials. HIV Med. 2011;12(8):453-462. ↗
  9. Fourman LT, Stanley TL, Zheng I, et al. Clinical predictors of liver fibrosis presence and progression in human immunodeficiency virus-associated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Clin Infect Dis. 2021;72(12):2087-2094. ↗
  10. Kanashiro-Takeuchi RM, Takeuchi LM, et al. Activation of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) receptor stimulates cardiac reverse remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012;109(2):559-563. ↗
  11. Yen DW, Sherman KE. Causes and outcomes of hepatic fibrosis in persons living with HIV. Curr Opin HIV AIDS. 2022;17(6):359-367. ↗
  12. Badran AS, et al. Body composition, hepatic fat, metabolic, and safety outcomes of tesamorelin, a GHRH analogue, in HIV-associated lipodystrophy: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Obes Res Clin Pract. 2026;20(1):2-12. ↗
  13. Russo SC, Ockene MW, Arpante AK, Johnson JE, Lee H, Toribio M, Stanley TL, Hadigan CM, Grinspoon SK, Erlandson KM, Fourman LT. Efficacy and safety of tesamorelin in people with HIV on integrase inhibitors. AIDS. 2024;38(11). ↗
  14. Arora G, Conde KR, Desouza CV. Pharmacologic treatments for the preservation of lean body mass during weight loss. J Clin Med. 2026;15(2):541. ↗
  15. Mayfield CK, et al. Injectable peptide therapy: a primer for orthopaedic and sports medicine physicians. Am J Sports Med. 2026;54(1):223-229. ↗