Growth drug melts bad fat in HIV patients

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- An experimental drug seems to help reduce abdominal fat in patients infected with the virus that causes AIDS, U.S. doctors said this week.

The drug, a growth hormone-releasing factor analog called TH9507, made by Theratechnologies in Montreal, appears to shift visceral fat, known to cause numerous health problems such as diabetes and heart disease, to other areas of the body.

Many patients infected with HIV gain weight in inappropriate amounts and in inappropriate areas of the body. There is no approved treatment for this condition.

"Overall, our patients did not lose weight," said Steven Grinspoon, associate professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, "but those patients who were taking TH9507 reduced visceral fat by 15.2 percent, compared to a 5 percent increase in patients taking placebo."

Grinspoon reported to the 14th annul Retrovirus Conference Monday that the trial was designed to show an 8-percent decrease in abdominal fat among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), after discussions with the Food and Drug Administration concurred that was a significant decrease.

"We were pleased to get this 15.2 percent reduction among patients with visceral fat accumulation in HIV-infected patients," Grinspoon said. In the trial, 275 patients with HIV were assigned to received TH9507, while another 137 patients were given placebo. Both received daily subcutaneous injections for 26 weeks.

He said patients on TH9507 also achieved a significant reduction in triglycerides and in the ratio of total cholesterol to high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL).