Diabetes Drug May Show Combo Effect Of Treating Chronic Liver Disease Too

Overview

• Post By : Kumar Jeetendra


• Source: University of Florida


• Date: 22 Jun,2016

Researcher from University of Florida uncover mystery over diabetes drug and explains drug may play an important role in the treatment of chronic liver disease.

The finding recently appears in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH is a type of liver disease that may lead to cancer or liver cirrhosis. NASH is also termed “Silent” liver disease that affects about 10 to 20 percent of the population in the United States.

Under research examination the team of researcher made trial over 101 NASH patients with Type 2 diabetes found that pioglitazone reduced fatty liver disease activity in 58 percent of participants. As the result half of the participants about 51 % the disease was reduced enough that it was no longer considered a threat to the liver.

According to researcher,

"The exciting thing is that there is a generic drug that already prevents the onset of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in recent studies. Now, it can reduce disease from excess liver fat accumulation and liver inflammation, and halt fibrosis that leads to cirrhosis. This will have a lot of long-term benefits for many people with a medication that will be very affordable and is already being used to treat Type 2 diabetes," cusi said.

Story source: University of Florida

Journal References:

Kenneth Cusi, Beverly Orsak, Fernando Bril, Romina Lomonaco, Joan Hecht, Carolina Ortiz-Lopez, Fermin Tio, Jean Hardies, Celia Darland, Nicolas Musi, Amy Webb, Paola Portillo-Sanchez. Long-term Pioglitazone Treatment for Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis and Prediabetes or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2016; DOI: 10.7326/M15-1774