Can a growth hormone drug help tired muscles in overweight people?
The effects of tesamorelin on phosphocreatine recovery in obese subjects with reduced GH.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists gave a drug called tesamorelin to overweight people who don’t make enough growth hormone. After 12 months, the drug boosted a hormone called IGF-I, which helped muscles recover faster after exercise — a sign of better energy production. This effect was stronger in people who got the drug, and it didn’t change blood sugar or insulin levels.
Surprising Findings
Boosting IGF-I improved muscle energy recovery without affecting blood sugar or insulin resistance.
IGF-I is often thought to worsen insulin resistance, so the fact that it improved mitochondrial function without harming glucose metabolism is counterintuitive and unexpected.
Practical Takeaways
If you’re overweight and have low growth hormone (confirmed by testing), tesamorelin may help improve muscle energy recovery and mitochondrial function.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists gave a drug called tesamorelin to overweight people who don’t make enough growth hormone. After 12 months, the drug boosted a hormone called IGF-I, which helped muscles recover faster after exercise — a sign of better energy production. This effect was stronger in people who got the drug, and it didn’t change blood sugar or insulin levels.
Surprising Findings
Boosting IGF-I improved muscle energy recovery without affecting blood sugar or insulin resistance.
IGF-I is often thought to worsen insulin resistance, so the fact that it improved mitochondrial function without harming glucose metabolism is counterintuitive and unexpected.
Practical Takeaways
If you’re overweight and have low growth hormone (confirmed by testing), tesamorelin may help improve muscle energy recovery and mitochondrial function.
Publication
Journal
The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism
Year
2014
Authors
H. Makimura, C. Murphy, Meghan N. Feldpausch, S. Grinspoon
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Claims (9)
In a 12-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, tesamorelin improved mitochondrial oxidative capacity in obese adults with reduced growth hormone secretion, as measured by enhanced phosphocreatine recovery after exercise, with improvements strongly associated with increased IGF-I levels.
Taking tesamorelin for a year makes IGF-I levels rise much more in obese people with low growth hormone than taking a dummy pill, with a clear difference between the two groups.
When IGF-I levels go up in obese people with low growth hormone, their muscles recover energy faster after exercise, and this connection is statistically significant.
In obese people with low growth hormone taking tesamorelin, the link between higher IGF-I and better muscle energy recovery is even stronger than in the whole group of participants.
Even when accounting for factors like age, weight, and insulin levels, higher IGF-I still links to better muscle energy recovery in obese people with low growth hormone.