Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone Analog to Improve Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Associated Cardiovascular Risk
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2024-09-30
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is common in individuals with obesity and is a
significant threat to public health, because it can lead to impaired liver function and liver
failure. Growth hormone is a hormone produced in the pituitary gland that helps regulate
metabolism and growth. Individuals with obesity, on average, secrete less growth hormone than
individuals without obesity. There are data to suggest that growth hormone may help to reduce
the amount of fat in the liver, and may also reduce inflammation in the liver, both of which
would be helpful to individuals with NAFLD. The purpose of this study is to investigate
whether treatment with a drug called tesamorelin, which is a growth hormone releasing hormone
analogue, will decrease liver fat and improve liver inflammation and scarring in obese
individuals with NAFLD.