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Tesamorelin improved obese patients’ metabolic profiles
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The relationship between obesity, decreased growth hormone secretion and an increased risk for cardiovascular disease has been explored in previous studies. Researchers in Massachusetts suggest that augmenting endogenous GH secretion in patients who are obese could result in significant improvements to subcutaneous adipose tissue and other metabolic features.
In a double blind study, Hideo Makimura, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and endocrinologist in the nutritional metabolism and neuroendocrine unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues randomly assigned 60 abdominally obese patients with reduced GH secretion to receive the synthetic GH-releasing factor analog tesamorelin 2 mg (Theratechnologies Inc.) once daily or placebo for 12 months.
The researchers assessed abdominal visceral adipose tissue and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). Longitudinal linear mixed-effects modeling was used to determine treatment effect.
According to data, visceral adipose tissue improved significantly (P=.003) after treatment with tesamorelin. Similarly, waist circumference (P=.03), trunk fat (P=.01), total fat (P=.04) and lean body mass (P=.03) improved in the tesamorelin vs. placebo groups, but treatment did not significantly affect abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (P=.4) or weight (P=.52).
Moreover, researchers found that treatment with tesamorelin for 12 months reduced cIMT significantly compared with placebo (P=.02). Additionally, researchers wrote that tesamorelin treatment resulted in an increased insulin-like growth factor I by 90% (P<.0001), decreased triglycerides by 20% (P=.02), and decreased log C-reactive protein by 24% (P=.04) compared with placebo. However, tesamorelin did not affect total cholesterol, HDL or LDL, they added.
According to researchers, these findings suggest a CV benefit related to the reduction of visceral adipose tissue. Although tesamorelin was well-tolerated without major side effects, Makimura and colleagues recommend additional studies to investigate the clinical significance in changes to cIMT observed in this study.
Disclosure: Partial research funding and the study drug was provided by Theratechnologies Inc. See the study for a full list of researchers’ disclosures.
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