Studies have shown that diabetes medications are effective in alleviating the symptoms of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, drawing attention.
If you suffer from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, in which fat accumulates in the liver and becomes damaged and inflamed, the probability of developing cirrhosis within 10 years is up to 29%. When cirrhosis is present, the incidence of liver cancer rises to 27%. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a common liver disease with a prevalence of up to 20% of the world population, but there is no treatment approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Against this backdrop, Severance Hospital’s endocrinology department professors Cha Bong-soo, Lee Yong-ho, and Lee Min-young and hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery professor Han Dae-hoon’s research team announced on the 28th that ‘SGLT-2 inhibitors’ prescribed to diabetic patients to lower blood sugar levels reduce glucose accumulation in hepatocytes and alleviate hepatitis. revealed
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental (IF 9.8), an international journal in the field of endocrine metabolism.
The research team analyzed the liver tissues of 29 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and 15 patients without non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among patients who underwent liver resection or cholecystectomy for liver cancer or cholecystitis at Severance Hospital for four years from 2015. As a result, it was confirmed that SGLT-2, a protein that transports sugar into cells, and intracellular sugar-binding proteins increased in the liver with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Accordingly, the research team hypothesized that the SGLT-2 inhibitor, a diabetes drug that lowers blood sugar, would alleviate non-alcoholic steatohepatitis by reducing excessive sugar intake into hepatocytes.
Subsequently, mice induced with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis were observed, and the mice showed the same protein changes as those in patients with actual non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
In addition, it was confirmed that the autophagy of hepatocytes, which clean diseased tissues and wastes on their own, decreased in mice and the range of liver inflammation widened. The research team interpreted this as a result of the additional sugar binding to the protein responsible for autophagy, resulting in a loss of original function.
Afterwards, when the SGLT-2 inhibitor was administered, the amount of SGLT-2 protein expression and sugar-linked protein decreased in the liver of mice, as well as the autophagy of hepatocytes was restored and the inflammatory response was alleviated. The research team explained that these changes were the process by which the symptoms of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis were alleviated.
Professor Bong-Soo Cha said, “This study is meaningful as it is the first study to suggest medical evidence and mechanism that SGLT-2 inhibitors for diabetes treatment alleviate the symptoms of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.” It is expected to improve the prognosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which is on the rise, and prevent deterioration to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.” Correspondent Kang Kyung-nam
Please note that posts that are not related to the contents of the article or that defame others, such as using profanity, may be deleted without notice by the administrator.
2023-07-30 11:04:00
#Antidiabetic #drug #SGLT2 #inhibitor #confirms #nonalcoholic #steatohepatitis #inhibitory #effect #Food #Drug #Daily #Korea #Food #Drug #News
