Even after accounting for belly fat loss, the muscles along the spine got denser with this drug, meaning it directly improved spinal muscle health.

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Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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The Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone Analogue, Tesamorelin, Decreases Muscle Fat and Increases Muscle Area in Adults with HIV

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2019

The study found that a drug called tesamorelin made the back muscles of HIV patients with belly fat stronger and denser—even after accounting for the fact that they lost belly fat—meaning the drug helped their muscles directly, not just by reducing fat.

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Source Study

The Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone Analogue, Tesamorelin, Decreases Muscle Fat and Increases Muscle Area in Adults with HIV

Score: 60

DOI: 10.14283/jfa.2018.45

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When belly fat went down in these patients, their trunk muscles also got less fatty—suggesting the same process might be cleaning up both types of fat.

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This drug only helped people whose belly fat went down a lot—so if your belly fat didn’t shrink, we don’t know if it would help your muscles.

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Even after accounting for belly fat loss, tesamorelin still increased paraspinal muscle density by 1.58 units in people with HIV and belly fat, showing a direct muscle effect.

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This drug didn’t just make muscles less fatty—it also made them bigger in size, adding about half a square inch of lean muscle in the core area after six months.

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For people with HIV and belly fat who responded to tesamorelin by losing belly fat, taking the drug for 26 weeks made their trunk muscles denser by 1.56 to 4.86 units compared to those who didn't take it.

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