Tesamorelin
Also known as Egrifta
Quick facts
- Researched for
- Deep belly fat and abdominal body composition
- Route or form
- Injection
- Evidence so far
- Human trials show deep fat loss, but long-term safety and cancer risk are not known.
- Not established
- Deep-fat results do not make it a general weight-loss drug or predict scale weight.
- Commonly researched
- 1 mg, dailyPractitionerSee every range
- Where to see it
- Egrifta is a prescription medicine. A doctor prescribes it and a pharmacy fills it.Our partner, US Precision Peptides, lists a separate tesamorelin product, not that medicine.Go to Next step
By the Learn Peptides editorial team · Updated · What changed: Names the approved use, adults with HIV and lipodystrophy. Drops an only-in-its-class claim we could not confirm. · How We Research
What people are researching it for
People are researching Tesamorelin mainly for deep belly fat and abdominal body composition.
Everything in this visual summary is also written out in words on this page.
Reasons people look into Tesamorelin. An interest is not a promise that it works.
- Weight loss & metabolic
- Body composition & performance
Most talk is about deep belly fat, not scale weight, often compared with weight-loss drugs.
Community reports
Community interest is focused on deep abdominal or visceral fat rather than simple scale weight. People often compare it with broader weight-loss drugs for that reason.
Community reports
Tesamorelin has real clinical backing for reducing visceral/organ-area fat, and people using it outside a prescription report the same pattern: fat loss concentrated around the stomach, but usually only after sticking with it for months. Reports on day-to-day feel (sleep, energy, hunger) are thinner and more mixed, and even fans agree it is slow.
Human trials show less deep belly fat, mostly in people with HIV and fat changes.
Human trials show that Tesamorelin can reduce visceral fat in the studied groups, especially people with HIV-related fat changes.
Tesamorelin is unusual in the peptide world because its central body-composition claim is supported by human trials. Those studies repeatedly show a stronger effect on visceral fat, the deeper abdominal fat around internal organs, than on fat, the fat directly under the skin. That distinction explains a pattern seen in both trials and community reports: the waist can look flatter while the scale moves very little.
What this is based on
- Human researchStudied in people for this or a related question.
- Community reportsWhat people describe noticing. Not proof of cause.
- Industry perspectiveCommentary from practitioners and the industry, based on experience. Not a study.
- Learn Peptides explanationOur own plain-English summary of the sources. It is not a source itself.
Deep-fat results do not make it a general weight-loss drug or predict scale weight.
That does not make Tesamorelin a general weight-loss drug. Visceral-fat results should not be turned into broad claims about scale weight.
Safety notes
It meaningfully raises and and can cause fluid retention, glucose changes, joint or carpal-tunnel-like symptoms, injection-site reactions, and hypersensitivity.
- You have trouble breathing or wheezing, or your face, lips, tongue or throat swell.
- You get hives away from the injection site, or feel severely dizzy or faint.
For these signs, call 911 or your local emergency number.
- Redness spreads, or heat, swelling or pain keeps growing where you injected.
- A lump keeps growing or does not go away, or you see pus or red streaks.
- You have a fever or chills, or feel sick all over.
- Cancer, now or in the past. Its label says not to use it with active cancer, because it raises . Practitioner commentary also says to avoid it after a recent cancer.
- Diabetes, or you take insulin or blood-sugar medicine. It can raise blood sugar, and in some people it causes glucose intolerance or diabetes. Its label says to check blood sugar before and during use. Practitioner commentary says to get uncontrolled diabetes under control first.
- Its label also rules it out in pregnancy. The same goes for some problems of the brain glands that control hormones (the hypothalamus and pituitary), such as after pituitary surgery or head radiation. Practitioner commentary also says to avoid it while breastfeeding.
- Growth-hormone releasers are banned in drug-tested sport.
- Doesn't work well for people with pituitary damage (tumor surgery, radiation, hypopituitarism) since the signal has no functional target left. Industry perspective
- Tesamorelin raises . Current labeling recommends IGF-1 monitoring and notes that persistent marked elevations may require reconsideration of treatment.
- Known effects include fluid retention, edema, joint discomfort, arthralgia, and carpal-tunnel-like symptoms.
- It can cause real allergic reactions, such as itching, flushing, hives and rash. Community reports include reactions after weeks of trouble-free use. Practitioner commentary notes rare, severe reactions (anaphylaxis), even after months of trouble-free use. They come more often with long, nonstop use.
- Redness, itching, swelling, and local discomfort at the injection site are recognized adverse effects.
- There's no published safety data beyond 12-18 months of continuous use.
- Long-term cardiovascular safety is not established in the approved population.
Questions to bring to your doctor
Only for the conditions this page cautions about. Bring this page with you.
- I have or had cancer. Should I avoid tesamorelin, and what would you watch for?
- Would my insulin or blood-sugar medicine need to change if I used tesamorelin?
Its evidence covers deep fat around organs, not the belly fat you can pinch.
Visceral fat
Visceral fat sits deeper in the abdomen around internal organs. It changes abdominal volume and projection and is commonly measured in research with imaging.
Subcutaneous fat
fat sits directly under the skin. This is the soft fat a person can usually pinch between their fingers.
What Tesamorelin research shows
Tesamorelin's strongest human evidence favors visceral-fat reduction. A study in adults with abdominal obesity and low secretion found a significant reduction in visceral fat but no significant reduction in abdominal fat.
What that means: a person could have a flatter-looking abdomen and a smaller waist while still being able to pinch much of the same lower-abdominal fat.
Shows practitioner ranges by goal and the Egrifta SV label amount, each with its source.
Commonly researched ranges, and how they were measured.
Commonly researched range for Tesamorelin
1 mg
daily · Injection
Practitioner
All 5 ranges in our record
Each one is labeled with where it comes from. They are different ways of using Tesamorelin, not steps to follow in order.
Standard, general optimization (tier one)
Practitioner- Amount per dose
- 1 mg
- How often
- Daily. At bedtime, 1-2 hours after the last meal.
- Typical schedule
- 8-12 weeks on, 4-6 weeks off
- Route
- Injection
Lower dose for smaller women
Practitioner- Amount per dose
- 500 mcg
- How often
- Daily. At bedtime.
- Typical schedule
- Not stated
- Route
- Injection
Visceral fat, the amount on the original Egrifta label (tier two)
Practitioner- Amount per dose
- 2 mg
- How often
- Daily. At bedtime.
- Typical schedule
- 6-9 months on, 2-3 months off
- Route
- Injection
Fatty liver, extended course (tier three)
Practitioner- Amount per dose
- 2 mg
- How often
- Daily. At bedtime.
- Typical schedule
- 12 months continuous, then at least 3 months off
- Route
- Injection
Daily dose
Prescription label (branded medicine)FDA label (Egrifta SV)- Amount per dose
- 1.4 mg
- How often
- Once daily
- Typical schedule
- Not stated
- Route
- Injection
This is the label amount for the branded medicine Egrifta SV. Its label says 1.4 mg of this newer formulation gives about the same exposure as 2 mg of the original Egrifta. It is not a dosing instruction for other products.
These ranges were last reviewed Sep 2026.
FDA-approved in 2010 for HIV lipodystrophy belly fat; it triggers your own growth hormone.
A GHRH analog best known for reducing visceral abdominal fat in human research. Tesamorelin prompts the body to release more of its own rather than supplying HGH directly. Its strongest evidence is for visceral abdominal fat, not general scale-weight loss or guaranteed removal of pinchable belly fat. Since 2010, it has been -approved to reduce excess belly fat in adults with HIV and lipodystrophy.
Not the same as
- HGH: Tesamorelin stimulates the body's own growth-hormone release through the GHRH receptor. HGH supplies growth hormone directly.
Next step
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