The Effect of Empagliflozin on NAFLD in Asian Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Summary

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease( NAFLD) is common in patients with type 2 diabetes. Empagliflozin, an FDA-approved oral medication used to treat type 2 diabetes, has been shown to reduce production and deposition of fat in the liver in animal experiments. There is little published evidence that this is so in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes. The investigators designed this pilot study to determine if use of empagliflozin for 6 months in patients with type 2 diabetes can improve scan, blood marker and biopsy features of NAFLD.

Timeline

Start

2016-11

Primary completion

2018-11

Completion

2018-11

Publications

• Background Zinman B, Lachin JM, Inzucchi SE. Empagliflozin, Cardiovascular Outcomes, and Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2016 Mar 17;374(11):1094. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc1600827. No abstract available.
• Background Ferrannini E, Mark M, Mayoux E. CV Protection in the EMPA-REG OUTCOME Trial: A "Thrifty Substrate" Hypothesis. Diabetes Care. 2016 Jul;39(7):1108-14. doi: 10.2337/dc16-0330.
• Background Tahara A, Kurosaki E, Yokono M, Yamajuku D, Kihara R, Hayashizaki Y, Takasu T, Imamura M, Li Q, Tomiyama H, Kobayashi Y, Noda A, Sasamata M, Shibasaki M. Effects of SGLT2 selective inhibitor ipragliflozin on hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis, oxidative stress, inflammation, and obesity in type 2 diabetic mice. Eur J Pharmacol. 2013 Sep 5;715(1-3):246-55. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2013.05.014. Epub 2013 May 23.
• Background Hazlehurst JM, Woods C, Marjot T, Cobbold JF, Tomlinson JW. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and diabetes. Metabolism. 2016 Aug;65(8):1096-108. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2016.01.001. Epub 2016 Jan 11.
• Background Ballestri S, Nascimbeni F, Romagnoli D, Lonardo A. The independent predictors of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and its individual histological features.: Insulin resistance, serum uric acid, metabolic syndrome, alanine aminotransferase and serum total cholesterol are a clue to pathogenesis and candidate targets for treatment. Hepatol Res. 2016 Oct;46(11):1074-1087. doi: 10.1111/hepr.12656. Epub 2016 Mar 30.
• Background Jojima T, Tomotsune T, Iijima T, Akimoto K, Suzuki K, Aso Y. Empagliflozin (an SGLT2 inhibitor), alone or in combination with linagliptin (a DPP-4 inhibitor), prevents steatohepatitis in a novel mouse model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and diabetes. Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2016 Jul 26;8:45. doi: 10.1186/s13098-016-0169-x. eCollection 2016.
• Background Alisi A, Ceccarelli S, Panera N, Prono F, Petrini S, De Stefanis C, Pezzullo M, Tozzi A, Villani A, Bedogni G, Nobili V. Association between Serum Atypical Fibroblast Growth Factors 21 and 19 and Pediatric Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. PLoS One. 2013 Jun 26;8(6):e67160. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0067160. Print 2013.
• Background Dushay JR, Toschi E, Mitten EK, Fisher FM, Herman MA, Maratos-Flier E. Fructose ingestion acutely stimulates circulating FGF21 levels in humans. Mol Metab. 2014 Oct 8;4(1):51-7. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2014.09.008. eCollection 2015 Jan.
• Background Kleiner DE, Brunt EM, Van Natta M, Behling C, Contos MJ, Cummings OW, Ferrell LD, Liu YC, Torbenson MS, Unalp-Arida A, Yeh M, McCullough AJ, Sanyal AJ; Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network. Design and validation of a histological scoring system for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Hepatology. 2005 Jun;41(6):1313-21. doi: 10.1002/hep.20701.
• Background Vanni E, Bugianesi E, Kotronen A, De Minicis S, Yki-Jarvinen H, Svegliati-Baroni G. From the metabolic syndrome to NAFLD or vice versa? Dig Liver Dis. 2010 May;42(5):320-30. doi: 10.1016/j.dld.2010.01.016. Epub 2010 Mar 6.
• Lai LL, Vethakkan SR, Nik Mustapha NR, Mahadeva S, Chan WK. Empagliflozin for the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Dig Dis Sci. 2020 Feb;65(2):623-631. doi: 10.1007/s10620-019-5477-1. Epub 2019 Jan 25.

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