Treating Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) With Metformin

Summary

Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) is associated with progressive liver disease, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Although the cause of NASH is unknown, it is often associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and insulin resistance. At present, there are no approved treatments for NASH patients, but an experimental approach has focused on improving their insulin sensitivity. Metformin is one of the most commonly used medications for the treatment of diabetes. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the medical problems of NASH patients, specifically liver damage, improves when their insulin sensitivity is enhanced with metformin. The study will last 3 to 5 years and will enroll up to 30 patients. Participants will undergo a complete medical examination, a series of lab tests, and a liver biopsy. They will then start taking a single 500-mg tablet of metformin once a day for 2 weeks, then the same dosage twice a day for 2 more weeks, if they tolerate the first dosage. The dosage will increase to 1,000 mg twice a day for the remaining 44 weeks of the study. After 1 year, participants will undergo a repeat medical examination and liver biopsy.

Timeline

Start

2003-06

Primary completion

2008-03

Completion

2008-03

Publications

• Background Caldwell SH, Oelsner DH, Iezzoni JC, Hespenheide EE, Battle EH, Driscoll CJ. Cryptogenic cirrhosis: clinical characterization and risk factors for underlying disease. Hepatology. 1999 Mar;29(3):664-9. doi: 10.1002/hep.510290347.
• Loomba R, Lutchman G, Kleiner DE, Ricks M, Feld JJ, Borg BB, Modi A, Nagabhyru P, Sumner AE, Liang TJ, Hoofnagle JH. Clinical trial: pilot study of metformin for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2009 Jan;29(2):172-82. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2008.03869.x. Epub 2008 Oct 9.

Drugs

Indications