Less fat inside the liver in a specific group
People living with HIV and fatty liver disease.
What did they want to find out?
Did liver fat change after 12 months compared with placebo?
What did researchers observe?
Tesamorelin produced a larger average reduction in liver fat.
What does this mean for you?
This measures fat inside the liver; it does not establish an equivalent reduction in total body fat.
What we still do not know
Not generalizable to people without HIV. The primary abstract was checked here, not every supplement or analysis.
Show study details
Original sources checked on 4 October 2026. AI-assisted editorial summaries, not a systematic review or an independent medical assessment.
Effects of tesamorelin on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in HIV: a randomised, double-blind, multicentre trial
The Lancet HIV · 2019
How it was studied
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial; main comparison over 12 months.. 61 people enrolled with HIV and fatty liver; 60 received intervention or placebo..
Study finding
The difference in liver-fat change was −4.1 percentage points versus placebo, corresponding to a 37% relative reduction.
Study limitations
Small, specific population. Local injection-site complaints were more common; the abstract does not settle individual safety or long-term liver outcomes.
Who is behind the study?
- Identified authors
- Takara L. Stanley, Lindsay T. Fourman, Meghan N. Feldpausch, Julia Purdy, Isabel Zheng, Chelsea S. Pan, Julia Aepfelbacher, Colleen Buckless, Andrew Tsao, Anela Kellogg, Karen Branch, Hang Lee, Chia-Ying Liu, Kathleen E. Corey, Raymond T. Chung, Martin Torriani, David E. Kleiner, Colleen M. Hadigan, Steven K. Grinspoon
- Funding and involvement
- National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
- Disclosed interests and verification limits
- Not confirmed from the accessed source: the indexed primary abstract was checked, not the full disclosure statement.
Terms explained
- Hepatic fat fraction
- The measured proportion of fat inside the liver.
- Relative reduction
- Change compared with the starting value; different from percentage points.
Read the source and its limitations. A reference does not automatically validate a commercial product.
Read the source