Treatment with an investigational drug that induces the release of growth hormone significantly improved the symptoms of HIV lipodystrophy, a condition involving the redistribution of fat and other metabolic changes in patients receiving combination drug therapy for HIV infection. A team led by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and McGill University Health Centre found that treatment with tesamorelin, a growth-hormone-releasing factor, significantly reduced deep abdominal fat deposits and improved the metabolic aspects of HIV lipodystrophy in a group of patients with the syndrome. The report of a six-month Phase 3 clinical trial of tesamorelin appears in the December 6 New England Journal of Medicine.
