Research Article Details
Article ID: | A04439 |
PMID: | 33616043 |
Source: | J Diabetes Complications |
Title: | Evolution of liver fibrosis and steatosis markers in patients with type 2 diabetes after metformin treatment for 2 years. |
Abstract: | BACKGROUND/AIMS: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) share pathophysiological mechanism. Metformin is a widely used first-line anti-diabetic drug. We investigated the evolution of liver fibrosis and steatosis during 2-year use of metformin in patients with T2DM. METHODS: Between 2006 and August 2010, patients newly diagnosed with T2DM who received metformin as the first-line treatment were recruited. Fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) > 2.67 and hepatic steatosis index (HSI) > 36.0 was used to define advanced liver fibrosis and fatty liver, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 1292 (mean age 60.8 years, 57% men and 43% women) patients were recruited. The mean FIB-4 and HSI scores were 1.38 and 27.3, respectively. At enrollment, 83 (6.4%) patients had advanced liver fibrosis and 429 (33.2%) had fatty liver. After 2 years of metformin treatment, the mean FIB-4 score increased from 1.38 to 1.51 (p < 0.001), whereas the mean HSI score decreased from 27.3 to 26.5 (p < 0.001). During follow-up, advanced liver fibrosis additionally developed in 52/1209 (4.3%) patients, whereas 48/83 (57.8%) experienced fibrosis regression. Older age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.007), lower platelet count (OR = 0.993), and lower serum albumin (OR = 0.325) were independently associated with the increased risk of advanced liver fibrosis development after 2-years of metformin treatment. CONCLUSION: In our cohort of patients with metformin treatment, a small proportion of patients developed liver fibrosis and steatosis after 2 years. Optimized follow-up strategy is required according to different risk of liver fibrosis progression in patients with T2DM. |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2020.107747 |

Strategy ID | Therapy Strategy | Synonyms | Therapy Targets | Therapy Drugs | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
S03 | Anti-fibrosis | fibrosis | Angiotensin Receptor Blocker (ARB); CCR2/CCR5 antagonist; Thyroid receptor β agonist; PEGylated human FGF21 analogue; Monoclonal antibody to lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2); Galectin-3 inhibitor; FGF19 variant | Losartan; Cenicriviroc; VK-2809; MGL-3196; Pegbelfermin; Simtuzumab; GR-MD-02; NGM282 | Details |
Diseases ID | DO ID | Disease Name | Definition | Class | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
I05 | 9352 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus | A diabetes that is characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. A diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_mellitus_type_2 | disease of metabolism/inherited metabolic disorder/ carbohydrate metabolic disorder/glucose metabolism disease/diabetes/ diabetes mellitus | Details |
Drug ID | Drug Name | Type | DrugBank ID | Targets | Category | Latest Progress | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
D225 | Metformin | Chemical drug | DB00331 | PRKAB1 inducer activator; ETEDH inhibitor; GPD1 inhibitor | Improve insulin resistance | Under clinical trials | Details |
D328 | Serine | Chemical drug | DB00133 | SRR | Improve insulin resistance | Under clinical trials | Details |
D157 | Glucophage | Chemical drug | DB00331 | -- | -- | Under clinical trials | Details |
D094 | Cysteamine | Chemical drug | DB00847 | GSS stimulant | Renal drug | Under clinical trials | Details |
D095 | Cysteamine bitartrate | Chemical drug | DB00847 | -- | -- | Under clinical trials | Details |