This record provides bibliographic details and links to the original research. An editorial study breakdown is not available.
What the researchers found
Tesamorelin decreased 13 circulating immune markers (chemokines, cytokines, T-cell molecules) and downregulated hepatic immune activation pathways in a 12-month randomized trial of 61 HIV patients with NAFLD.
Why it matters
Chronic immune activation in HIV accelerates liver disease, heart disease, and aging. Finding that a GHRH analog can dampen this activation opens a new therapeutic approach beyond traditional antiretroviral therapy.
The numbers in context
61 patients; 12 months; 92 biomarkers; 13 decreased (CCL3, CCL4, CCL13, IL8, IL-10, CSF-1, CD8A, CRTAM, GZMA, ADGRG1, ARG1, Gal-9, HGF); 0 increased; liver transcriptomics confirmed
How the study worked
Double-blind, randomized trial. 61 people with HIV and NAFLD received tesamorelin or placebo for 12 months. 92 immune biomarkers measured by proteomics. Gene set enrichment analysis on serial liver biopsies.
Who was studied
People with HIV and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease randomized to tesamorelin or placebo for 12 months
What this study cannot tell us
Small trial (61 patients). HIV population may not generalize to other groups. Proteomics approach measures many markers, increasing chance of false positives. Only NAFLD patients studied, not HIV patients without liver disease.
Read the original research
Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone Reduces Circulating Markers of Immune Activation in Parallel with Effects on Hepatic Immune Pathways in Individuals with HIV-infection and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.
Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 73(4), 621-630
Citation
Stanley, Takara L; Fourman, Lindsay T; Wong, Lai Ping; Sadreyev, Ruslan; Billingsley, James M; Feldpausch, Meghan N; Zheng, Isabel; Pan, Chelsea S; Boutin, Autumn; Lee, Hang; Corey, Kathleen E; Torriani, Martin; Kleiner, David E; Chung, Raymond T; Hadigan, Colleen M; Grinspoon, Steven K. (2021). Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone Reduces Circulating Markers of Immune Activation in Parallel with Effects on Hepatic Immune Pathways in Individuals with HIV-infection and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 73(4), 621-630. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciab019