Tirzepatide (Spartina) in Obese Kidney Transplant Recipients

What Was Tested

This registered phase 4 trial tested Tirzepatide.

Current approaches for weight management in transplant recipients, including lifestyle modification, are often insufficient, while bariatric surgery carries considerable risks and concerns regarding altered absorption of immunosuppressive medications.

It had 1 arm (groups): Tirzepatide(Spartina) (experimental).

The registry classes the interventions as drug.

More on the Plan

Lifestyle-based interventions often fail to produce sustained weight loss.

This study is designed as a prospective single-arm pilot clinical trial.

Participants will be monitored for changes in body weight, BMI, waist circumference, graft function parameters (serum creatinine and eGFR), metabolic indices (fasting glucose, HbA1c, lipid profile), gastrointestinal adverse events, and calcineurin inhibitor trough levels (tacrolimus or cyclosporine).

Who Took Part

30 planned participants were the target.

It was open to people of any sex aged from 18 years with no upper age limit.

Healthy volunteers were not accepted; participants needed the condition being studied.

Examples of who could join: Age ≥ 18 years. Kidney transplant recipient with ≥12 months since transplantation. BMI ≥ 27 kg/m². Stable immunosuppressive regimen. Ability to provide written informed consent.

The full record lists 6 inclusion and 6 exclusion criteria; among the exclusions: history of pancreatitis; severe gastroparesis; history of medullary thyroid carcinoma (mtc) or men2 syndrome.

How the Study Was Run

The set-up was single-group and open-label.

Everyone knew when Tirzepatide was being given (open label), which is simpler to run but leaves more room for expectations to affect what is reported.

Everyone received the same intervention, so there was no separate comparison group inside the trial.

It started in 2026-01-01 with completion listed for 2026-07.

It ran at 1 site in Iran.

Its stated primary purpose is treatment.

What Was Measured

The main thing measured (primary outcome): Percent Change in Body Weight From Baseline at Week 24 (time frame: Baseline to Week 24). Incidence of Gastrointestinal Adverse Events (time frame: Baseline to Week 24 (monthly assessment)). Change in Serum Creatinine (time frame: Baseline to Week 24).

It also tracked 8 secondary outcomes, for example Change in Body Mass Index (BMI), Change in Waist Circumference, Proportion of Participants Achieving Clinically Meaningful Weight Loss • Definition, change in tacrolimus trough Level, Change in Fasting blood glucose and Change in systolic blood pressure.

What This Means in Plain Language

Put simply, this is a phase 4 trial of Tirzepatide in 30 people.

Its size is small, so on its own it can only give an early look.

It is still recruiting; no results are posted to the registry yet, so nothing here describes outcomes.

More context: the Tirzepatide compound page, all human trials.