Tesamorelin vs HGH (somatropin)
Every row cites its source. Where a cell reflects our own reading of the evidence rather than an external source, the row says so.
| Dimension | Tesamorelin | Somatropin (recombinant human growth hormone) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is injected | A stabilized GHRH analog that stimulates pituitary GRF receptors | Recombinant human growth hormone itself | source |
| Physiology of exposure | Endogenous GH released in its natural pulsatile pattern; other pituitary hormones unchanged in trials | Exogenous GH exposure set by the injected dose, titrated against serum IGF-1 per label | source |
| FDA-approved use (adults) | Excess abdominal fat in HIV-associated lipodystrophy; weight neutral per label | Growth hormone deficiency and other labeled indications, dose individualized by IGF-1 | source |
| Evidence in healthy older adults | One 20-week cognition trial (favorable, preliminary, authors call for longer trials) | Systematic review of 18 study populations: fat -2.1 kg, lean +2.1 kg, no weight change, significantly more adverse events; cannot be recommended as anti-aging therapy | source |
| Shared class risks | Fluid retention (edema, arthralgia, carpal tunnel), glucose intolerance (5% vs 1% new diabetic-range HbA1c), critical-illness caution | Same cluster; somatropin label documents 42% vs 19% mortality when GH was given in acute critical illness | source |
| Anti-aging legality and status | Off-label; no anti-aging approval exists | Distribution of GH as an anti-aging agent is illegal in the United States per the Annals systematic review | source |
One is a request, the other is the delivery. Tesamorelin signals the pituitary to release its own GH in natural pulses; somatropin is the hormone itself. Both are FDA-approved drugs with almost non-overlapping indications, both share the GH-axis cautions, and neither is an approved anti-aging therapy.
No randomized head-to-head trial of tesamorelin versus somatropin exists in any population; rows compare each drug's own label and literature. GH's healthy-elderly data cannot be assumed to describe tesamorelin, and tesamorelin's HIV-lipodystrophy results cannot be assumed to describe GH.