title: Growth hormone-releasing factor agonists for the treatment of HIV-associated lipodystrophy.
abstract: HIV-associated lipodystrophy characterized by body composition changes and associated metabolic abnormalities, including dyslipidemia and insulin resistance, is a major challenge in the treatment of HIV infection. Growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) analogs with greater stability than the natural hormone can induce growth hormone secretion in a physiological manner, and appear to be promising candidate therapies for these conditions. The most promising GRF agonist in development is tesamorelin (EMD Serono/Theratechnologies), which has exhibited efficacy for the treatment of excess visceral adipose tissue in patients with HIV infection in two recent phase III, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials. Additional long-term outcome trials are required to determine the long-term safety of tesamorelin and to evaluate whether this agent, or other GRF agonists, could reduce the cardiovascular risk associated with lipodystrophy-related metabolic complications and help to maintain a more normal distribution of body fat.
authors.affiliation: The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tomlinson
mesh_terms: D004347:Drug Interactions; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000819:agonists* / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006678:HIV / Q000187:drug effects; D039682:HIV-Associated Lipodystrophy Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D013006:Growth Hormone; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone; C479538:tesamorelin