Abstract
Background
The efficacy of antidiabetic agents for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver
disease (NAFLD) remains unclear.
Aim
To conduct a meta-analysis to study the efficacy of pioglitazone and three novel anti-diabetic
agents: glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists, sodium-glucose co-transporter-2
(SGLT2) inhibitors, and dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors in treating NAFLD.
Methods
Online databases were searched in May 2020 for randomized clinical trials. Results
from random-effects meta-analysis are presented as weighted mean differences (WMDs)
or standard mean differences (SMDs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results
Twenty-six studies (n=946 NAFLD patients) were included. Reductions in ALT were seen
with all four drugs: pioglitazone (MD -38.41, p<0.001), SGLT2 inhibitors (MD -16.17,
p<0.001), GLP-1 agonists (MD -27.98, p=0.04) and DPP-4 inhibitors (MD -7.41, p<0.001).
Pioglitazone (SMD -1.01; p<0.001) and GLP-1 agonists (SMD -2.53, p=0.03) also demonstrated
significant improvements in liver steatosis. SGLT2 inhibitors (SMD -4.64, p=0.06)
and DPP-4 (SMD -2.49, p=0.06) inhibitors trended towards reduced steatosis; however,
these results were non-significant.
Conclusion
Pioglitazone demonstrates significant improvements in transaminases and liver histology
in both diabetic and non-diabetic NAFLD patients. Early evidence from diabetic NAFLD
patients suggests that novel antidiabetics may lead to improvements in liver enzymes
and hepatic steatosis, and this should encourage further research into possible utility
of these drugs in treating NAFLD.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 08, 2020
Accepted:
August 16,
2020
Received:
April 25,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
