HIV patients with belly fat who responded to tesamorelin had bigger rectus and psoas muscles (0.44 and 0.46 cm² larger) compared to placebo after 26 weeks.

Tesamorelin increased rectus and psoas muscle size by 0.44 and 0.46 cm² in people with HIV and belly fat, and this effect remained even after accounting for belly fat loss.

HIV patients with belly fat who responded to tesamorelin saw better lean muscle quality in their abdominal and rectus muscles, with improvements of 1.39 and 1.78 units respectively compared to placebo after 26 weeks.

HIV patients with belly fat who responded to tesamorelin had more lean muscle mass in all four trunk muscles, with increases between 0.64 and 1.08 cm² compared to placebo after 26 weeks.

The drug made two key core muscles—rectus and psoas—slightly bigger, adding about half a square inch each after six months, while the placebo group didn’t change.

People with HIV and belly fat who responded to tesamorelin by losing belly fat saw their rectus and psoas muscles grow 0.44 cm² and 0.46 cm² larger than those on placebo after 26 weeks of treatment.