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- Title
Metformin in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
- Authors
Marchesini, G; Brizi, M; Bianchi, G; Tomassetti, S; Zoli, M; Melchionda, N
- Abstract
There is no established treatment for steatohepatitis in patients who are not alcoholics. This disease is a potentially progressive liver disease associated with hepatic insulin resistance. Only a weight-reducing diet in overweight patients has proved effective. We treated 20 patients who had steatohepatitis but were not alcoholics with metformin (500 mg three times a day for 4 months), an agent that improves hepatic insulin sensitivity. When compared with the six individuals not complying with treatment, long-term metformin significantly reduced mean transaminase concentrations, which returned to normal in 50% of actively-treated patients. Also, insulin sensitivity improved significantly and liver volume decreased by 20%. Similar data have been reported in insulin-resistant ob/ob mice with fatty liver. A randomised-controlled study is needed.
- Publication
Lancet (London, England), 2001, Vol 358, Issue 9285, p893
- ISSN
0140-6736
- Publication type
Research
- DOI
10.1016/s0140-6736(01)06042-1