Ozempic Reduces Liver Fat Levels in People With MASLD Living With HIV
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“Even at the low dose of 1 milligram every week, most participants lost significant weight, and weight loss was closely associated with improvements in MASLD,” said Jordan E. Lake, MD, an author of the study and a professor of infectious diseases at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, in a press release.
Liver Disease Completely Resolved in More Than Half of Participants
The study involved 49 adults who were 52 years old on average and had HIV and MASLD. The volunteers were characterized as diverse with respect to ethnicity, race, gender, and age. Of these participants, 40 were taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), which suppresses HIV but is associated with weight gain in some people.
On a weekly basis, patients injected themselves with semaglutide, a medication approved under the name Ozempic for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and used for long-term weight management. Study volunteers increased drug doses until they reached a 1 milligram (mg) dose at week four.
At 24 weeks, Dr. Lake and her team measured changes in the participants’ liver fat content using specialized MRI scans.
In addition to observing a 31 percent reduction of liver fat on average, the researchers noted that 29 patients experienced “complete resolution” of their liver disease, meaning fat dropped to 5 percent or less of overall liver content.
While muscle volume decreased with semaglutide-induced weight loss, no significant changes in physical function were observed.
Generally, the semaglutide was well tolerated, with common side effects including nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Semaglutide Shows Promising Results for People With HIV and Beyond
With fatty liver disease, triglycerides, and other fats can build up in the liver, leading to disruption of normal liver function.
Specifically, MASLD also affects up to 70 percent of people with diabetes, and past analysis points to encouraging results among this group.
“Promising data [on semaglutide] are emerging for patients with MASLD with and without HIV,” says Dr. Kim, who was not involved in the study.
He advises those interested in the medication to talk to their doctor about possible treatment with the drug, but warns that it may be prohibitively expensive for some patients.
Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Ozempic, lists the drug at $935.77 per month.
Kim mentions that advances in the treatment of this liver disease are being made beyond semaglutide. In fact, last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Rezdiffra (resmetirom) for an advanced type of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease where liver inflammation, over time, can lead to liver scarring and liver dysfunction.
While this study was limited in its small size, the researchers intend to further explore the distinct effects semaglutide may have in patients with HIV.
“Additional research will assess the secondary effects of semaglutide on systemic inflammation and metabolism and determine whether semaglutide may have unique risks or benefits for people living with HIV,” said Lake.
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