Effect of SGLT-2 inhibitors on NAFLD patients with and without T2DM

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Created On: 11/09/2023

A systematic review of clinical trials aimed to evaluate the influence of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients’ outcomes, whether they have type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or not.

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Key take away

In individuals with NAFLD, regardless of whether they have diabetes or not, the use of SGLT-2 inhibitors is linked with favorable outcomes on body mass index, lipid profiles, and liver enzymes.

Background

Method

For identifying studies related to the utilization of SGLT-2 inhibitors in people with NAFLD, databases such as Ovid and PubMed were explored. The research focused on evaluating various outcomes, such as alterations in liver enzymes, magnetic resonance imaging proton density-based fat fraction, fibrosis-4-index, weight fluctuations, and lipid profiles.

Only high-quality clinical trials that fulfilled the specified criteria were considered. From a pool of 382 potential studies, a total of 16 clinical trials were selected, each explaining the SGLT-2 inhibitors' application in NAFLD subjects.

Result

A total of 753 participants were involved. The results from most of the trials demonstrated positive impacts of SGLT-2 inhibitors on liver enzymes, specifically gamma-glutamyl transferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine transaminase. Regarding alterations in body mass index from baseline, all 10 trials reported a clinically meaningful decline with the utilization of SGLT-2 inhibitors.

Additionally, 11 studies reported a profound elevation in high-density lipoprotein levels, 3 studies showed a decrease in triglyceride levels, and 2 studies indicated a drop in the level of low-density lipoprotein.

Conclusion

SGLT-2 inhibitors showed promising results in NAFLD patients by positively affecting body mass index, liver enzymes, and lipid profiles. For validating the results, additional investigations with longer follow-up periods and larger sample sizes are required.