HIV patients with belly fat and high liver enzymes who lost at least 8% of their visceral fat from the drug saw their ALT drop by about 9 points (18%) and AST by 4 points (10%) after six months of treatment.

Scientific Claim

Among HIV-infected individuals with abdominal obesity and elevated baseline ALT or AST (>30 U/L), those achieving a ≥8% reduction in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) during tesamorelin treatment experienced a mean decrease of 9 U/L (18%) in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and 4 U/L (10%) in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels after 26 weeks of treatment.

Original Statement

“ALT decreased by 9 U/L (18%) and AST decreased by 4 U/L (10%) over 26 weeks among VAT responders with no change in ALT or AST in nonresponders.”

From study:Visceral fat reduction with tesamorelin is associated with improved liver enzymes in HIV

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

association

Can only show association/correlation

Assessment Explanation

The claim states the observed mean decreases without implying causation, using 'experienced' which is appropriate for descriptive data.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Visceral fat reduction with tesamorelin is associated with improved liver enzymes in HIV

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2017 Oct 23

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Visceral fat reduction with tesamorelin is associated with improved liver enzymes in HIV

Score: 62

DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000001614

Similar Assertions

For people with HIV and belly fat who have high liver enzyme levels, those who lost at least 8% of their visceral fat from the drug had much bigger drops in their liver enzyme numbers compared to those who didn't lose much fat, and this difference was statistically significant.

97%

For people with HIV and belly fat who have high liver enzyme levels, those who lost at least 8% of their visceral fat from tesamorelin treatment had much bigger drops in their liver enzyme levels compared to those who didn't lose much fat.

95%

HIV patients with high liver enzymes who lost at least 8% visceral fat after taking tesamorelin saw their ALT drop by about 9 units on average, while those without fat loss had a slight increase, showing a clear benefit from fat reduction.

94%

Even after stopping tesamorelin and some fat coming back, the liver enzyme improvements stayed for a year in patients who initially lost visceral fat.

93%

HIV patients with high liver enzymes who lost at least 8% of their visceral fat from the drug were 2.5 times more likely to have their ALT levels return to normal compared to those who didn't lose much fat.

93%