The drug made the lean parts of the abdominal and rectus muscles denser—meaning they had less fat inside them—more than other muscles, showing it targeted key core muscles.

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.

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.

People with HIV and belly fat who responded to tesamorelin by losing belly fat saw their trunk muscles grow larger in specific areas: rectus abdominis by 0.85 cm², psoas by 0.64 cm², and others by up to 1.08 cm² more than those on placebo after 26 weeks.

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.

People with HIV and belly fat who responded to tesamorelin had 0.64 to 1.08 square centimeters more lean muscle in their trunk muscles compared to those who didn't take the drug.