BACKGROUND

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an active form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Risk factors for NASH include type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors used to treat T2DM prevent glucose reabsorption in the kidney and increase glucose urinary excretion. Dapagliflozin is a potent, selective SGLT2 inhibitor that reduces hyperglycemia in patients with T2DM and has been demonstrated to reduce some complications associated with NASH in rodent models.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the efficacy and safety profile of dapagliflozin for the treatment of NASH-associated with T2DM.

METHODS

In this single-arm, nonrandomized, open-label study, 16 patients with percutaneous liver biopsy-confirmed NASH and T2DM were enrolled to be prescribed dapagliflozin 5 mg/d for 24 weeks. Of these, 11 patients were evaluable. Patients with chronic liver disease other than NASH were excluded. Body composition, laboratory variables related to liver tests and metabolism, and glucose homeostasis were assessed at baseline and periodically during the study. Changes from baseline were evaluated with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

RESULTS

Administration of dapagliflozin for 24 weeks was associated with significant decreases in body mass index ( < 0.01), waist circumference ( < 0.01), and waist-to-hip ratio ( < 0.01). Changes in body composition were driven by reductions in body fat mass ( < 0.01) and percent body fat ( < 0.01), without changes in lean mass or total body water. Liver tests (ie, serum concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, ferritin, and type IV collagen 7S) also significantly improved during the study. Insulin concentrations decreased ( < 0.01 by Week 24) in combination with significant reductions in fasting plasma glucose ( < 0.01) and glycated hemoglobin ( < 0.01) levels and increases in adiponectin ( < 0.01) levels from Week 4 onward.

CONCLUSIONS

Dapagliflozin was associated with improvements in body composition, most likely a reduction in visceral fat, which occurred together with improvements in liver tests and metabolic variables in patients with NASH-associated with T2DM. UMIN Clinical Trial Registry identifier: UMIN000023574.