Acute dose of diabetes treatment can improve liver metabolism

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, scientists have found out a way to improve liver metabolism in humans.

Experts claim that using an acute dose of an existing diabetes treatment could prove helpful for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

In a study, it was observed that a Type-2 diabetes treatment has "off-label" benefits for glucose control in the liver and in fatty cells known as adipose.

NAFLD is a condition in which fat builds up in the liver and in some cases this accumulation of fat can cause inflammation of the liver.

This eventually leads to permanent scarring (cirrhosis), which can seriously impair the liver's ability to function.

The study showed that exenatide -- a treatment that targets the pancreas to improve glucose absorption -- enhances glucose uptake and reduces insulin resistance in the liver and in adipose tissue.

"There has been much discussion around the benefit of using injectable diabetes treatments, such as exenatide, on other tissues than the pancreas to improve glucose control," said lead study author Amailia Gastaldelli from University of Texas Health Science Centre in the US.

"This is why we set out to evaluate the effects of exenatide on the liver and adipose tissue; to better understand the benefits this treatment could offer to a wider group of patients," Gastaldelli added.

"This interesting study shows promising findings for the many people around the world who suffer from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease," said Tom Hemming Karlsen from the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).

"The authors have succeeded in identifying an existing treatment that can improve liver metabolism, which is an important step forward for the hepatology community," Karlsen added.

(With IANS inputs)