Tesamorelin

Growth hormone Approved · US Human trials

Also called Egrifta

The full 44-amino-acid growth-hormone-releasing hormone with a small fatty group added at one end to slow its breakdown. It raises the body's own growth hormone and IGF-1 and reduces deep abdominal fat. It is also studied for fatty liver and mild cognitive impairment.

Evidence at a glance

Evidence: Human trials — Studied in people
Status: An approved medicine in US
Dosing: A dose has been tested in humans

Visceral fat returns when it is stopped. It can worsen glucose tolerance.

What studies report

Roughly 15-18% reduction in visceral abdominal fat in HIV lipodystrophy trials
Reduced liver fat in people with HIV and fatty liver
Modest cognitive signals in mild cognitive impairment studies

How it works

A GHRH analogue that stimulates natural pulsatile growth hormone release; its signature effect is on visceral fat.

Binds a receptor on the cell surface and signals inward

Where it acts

Pituitary gland

The library groups this compound under Growth hormone. The diagram shows that target, not every tissue it reaches.

Illustrated

An anterior pituitary tissue fragment with small capillaries and hormone secretory cells, three-dimensional histology-inspired view.

AI-generated subject illustration; not a depiction of the compound or evidence of its effects.

Why people take it

Visceral belly fatLiver fatLean muscle preservationGrowth hormone support

Reasons people seek it out — not a list of proven effects.

In practice Off-label

Used specifically for visceral fat rather than general weight loss
Run for longer periods than most peptides, since the fat returns when stopped
Sold pre-blended with ipamorelin in a single vial, pairing a growth hormone releasing factor with a secretagogue

Reported real-world use, not evidence and not a recommendation.

Dosing

What was tested Evidence

2 mg daily, subcutaneous26 weeksPhase 3, HIV-associated lipodystrophy (n≈800)→ 15–18% reduction in visceral fat
2 mg daily, subcutaneous12 monthsNIH trial in HIV with fatty liver→ Reduced liver fat

What people report using Not evidence

1–2 mg daily, often taken before bed
Run for 3+ months, since visceral fat returns on stopping

Reported for reference, not as instruction. Nothing here is a recommendation to take anything, and most of these compounds are not approved for human use.

Status: FDA-approved (Egrifta, 2010) for excess abdominal fat in people with HIV-associated lipodystrophy.

Route: Subcutaneous injection, prescribed where approved
Formula: C221H366N72O67S
Molecular weight: 5135.9 g/mol
CAS: 218949-48-5
Available as: 10 mg

Search PubMed for Tesamorelin → We link a live search rather than a fixed citation list, so it stays current and nothing here is a reference we have not checked.

Compared with

vs MK-677 →

Side-by-side pages for the compounds this one is most often confused with or taken alongside.

Educational information only. Nothing here is medical advice, a dosing protocol, or a recommendation to use any compound. Most entries describe substances not approved for human use. Talk to a licensed clinician before acting on anything you read here. How to read these entries.