Before treatment, the fat under the skin looked just as healthy on scans in both the drug and placebo groups — so any changes later were caused by the drug.

Before starting the drug, the fat quality in the group that got the drug was just like the group that got the placebo — so any differences later were due to the treatment.

The drug makes the fat around the organs healthier-looking on scans more than the fat under the skin — it works better on belly fat than on thigh or arm fat.

The fat under the skin gets denser and healthier-looking on scans even when the amount of that fat doesn’t change much — the drug is improving its quality directly.

The same HIV patients with belly fat who responded to tesamorelin also saw their under-the-skin fat become denser by 3.5 points on CT scans after 26 weeks, regardless of fat amount changes, indicating healthier fat tissue.

The same drug that reduces belly fat in HIV patients also makes the fat under the skin denser and healthier-looking on scans, even when the amount of fat doesn’t change much.