Study Finds Potential Drug Therapy for Fatty Liver Disease

24vitaHealthy living

Status: 09/03/2023, 04:54

By: Judith Brown

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More and more people suffer from fatty liver. So far there are no drugs against it. Thanks to a study, this could now change.

If a liver is healthy, it usually contains little or no fat. However, if the organ has to store more fat than it can release, for example due to an unhealthy lifestyle, this often leads to liver disease. Doctors speak of fatty liver or steatohepatitis when more than 50 percent of the liver cells are affected by fatty degeneration and there is inflammation. A distinction is made between alcoholic (AFLD, Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease), for which there are currently no drugs. However, this could soon change.

Researchers are testing an active ingredient against fatty liver – the first drug therapy could soon be possible

The liver is an organ that can regenerate very well. A fatty liver can also regress in this way. © Science Photo Library/IMAGO

Anyone suffering from fatty liver can reverse it. However, this requires a changeover to a healthy lifestyle, as there are currently no medications available to treat the disease. In one in the trade magazine The New England Journal of Medicine published Study a research team led by the gastroenterologist Rohit Loomba from the University of La Jolla near San Diego in the USA has now examined the effect of the analogue pegozafermin on the hormone FGF21 in patients with an existing fatty liver and liver fibrosis. The hormone is secreted by the liver and lowers triglyceride and cholesterol levels, for example. It is also involved in the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism and body weight. In the study, the use of pegozafermin reversed the liver disease in some of those affected.

219 people from the USA, who were on average 57 years old, took part in the study. They suffered from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and had moderate or severe fibrosis. Participants with uncontrolled diabetes or liver cirrhosis were excluded. The researchers compared three different groups of fibrosis patients with each other. They differed in terms of taking the study medication as follows:

Group 1: 15 mg or 30 mg of the FGF21 analogue pegozafermin weekly Group 2: 44 mg of the FGF21 analogue pegozafermin every other week Group 3: placebo

The results showed that after 24 weeks of therapy, the degree of fibrosis had improved by 27 percent in the second group. In the first group it was 26 percent (at 30 mg) and 22 percent (at 15 mg) and only seven percent in the placebo group. In about a quarter of the participants, the addition of the drug caused the fibrosis to recede.

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Researchers succeed in reducing liver fat and normalizing liver values ​​with medication

In addition, only two percent on placebo managed to resolve the symptoms of NASH. In contrast, it was 37 percent, 23 percent, and 26 percent with the 15, 30, and 44 mg doses, respectively. However, it remains unclear why the lowest dose achieved the best effect. There was also a clear dose-response relationship for liver fat content. For example, the fat content in the participants who received a placebo decreased by only five percent. In contrast, the 15 mg doses of pegozafermin achieved a 27 percent decrease and those of the 30 mg and 44 mg doses achieved a 48 percent and 42 percent decrease, respectively. About 60 percent also achieved a 60 percent reduction in liver fat with the two higher doses. A normalization of the liver values ​​succeeded similarly many.

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This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editorial team cannot answer individual questions about clinical pictures.

2023-09-03 21:45:50
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