CANADA —Theratechnologies Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in developing and commercializing innovative therapies has discovered that tesamorelin may have the potential to enhance metabolic profiles in individuals living with HIV (PWHIV) by decreasing excess visceral abdominal fat (EVAF).
The results were presented at the 30th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle, Washington.
The researchers reported a link between the reduction of EVAF and a favorable shift in the metabolic syndrome classification among PWHIV who were treated with tesamorelin.
The trials involved 400 PWHIV with EVAF, and responders were defined as those who had at least an 8% reduction in EVAF after 26 weeks of tesamorelin treatment.
The researchers evaluated and classified metabolic syndrome according to its five components: elevated waist circumference, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, increased blood pressure, and elevated fasting blood glucose.
Metabolic syndrome is a medical condition marked by central obesity, high fasting blood glucose, high blood triglyceride levels, low HDL cholesterol levels, and hypertension.
This condition increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and stroke.
Excess visceral abdominal fat (EVAF) is a crucial component of central obesity that contributes to obesity-related ailments and ectopic fat accumulation in the liver, such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Metabolic syndrome can be treated with various medications, including Metformin and GLP-1 inhibitors like Ozempic, Trulicity, and Wegovy.
Metformin, primarily used to treat Type 2 diabetes, can be given as a preventive drug to individuals with metabolic syndrome.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) inhibitors are injectable drugs that reverse the pathology of metabolic syndrome and treat excessive weight.
Theratechnologies, which discovered tesamorelin in 1995, has been developing this innovative treatment for lipodystrophy in PWHIV, specifically EVAF.
Tesamorelin is a peptide that stimulates growth hormone production by binding to and activating Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) receptors in the anterior pituitary gland.
This, in turn, promotes Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) production which aids in growth promotion, inhibition of programmed cell death, glucose reduction, and lipolysis.
HIV subjects often exhibit low levels of growth hormone and IGF-1, which leads to lipodystrophy, a condition characterized by the buildup of excess fat in the body.
Study overview
Dr. Roger Bedimo, a professor of internal medicine at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, has stated that tesamorelin could potentially improve metabolic profiles in individuals with HIV who have central adiposity.
The data collected from two Phase III trials of tesamorelin in individuals with HIV who have excess visceral adipose tissue (EVAF) showed that tesamorelin could reduce EVAF and reverse metabolic syndrome classification.
This finding is consistent with previous research indicating that reducing visceral fat leads to improved metabolic profiles in people living with HIV (PWHIV).
At baseline, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome did not differ significantly between responders and non-responders.
However, after 26 weeks of tesamorelin treatment, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome decreased in responders, resulting in a significantly lower prevalence compared to non-responders.
This positive effect of tesamorelin treatment was consistent across both (National Cholesterol Education Program) NCEP and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) guidelines for metabolic syndrome classification, with differences in metabolic syndrome status primarily driven by triglyceride resolution and waist circumference decrease.
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