A hormone treatment called tesamorelin raises IGF-1 hormone levels more than a placebo in people with HIV at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months of treatment.

The drug makes the body produce more IGF-1 — a hormone linked to growth and metabolism — which is exactly what you’d expect from a drug that stimulates growth hormone.

The injection makes the body produce more of a natural growth-related hormone called IGF-1, which helps explain how it reduces belly fat.

After a year of taking tesamorelin, obese people with low growth hormone had much higher levels of IGF-I than those who took a sugar pill — proving the drug works as intended.

Rising IGF-1 levels helped explain some of the muscle growth from the drug, but not all of it—so other factors are also at work.

Tesamorelin boosts a key growth hormone-related protein in HIV patients without affecting their blood sugar levels.