A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital has found that growth hormone may help improve liver health in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, also known as NAFLD.
This common liver condition affects about one in four people worldwide, and it’s especially common in people who are overweight or have diabetes.
NAFLD happens when too much fat builds up in the liver, even though the person doesn’t drink much alcohol. Over time, this can cause inflammation and damage to the liver. A more serious form of this condition is called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH.
In NASH, the liver becomes inflamed and scarred. If this gets worse, it can lead to liver failure or the need for a liver transplant. In fact, in the U.S., liver transplants due to NASH are now one of the most common reasons for getting a new liver.
Doctors are trying to find better ways to treat NAFLD and NASH. Right now, there are no approved medicines for these conditions, so new research is very important.
In this study, the researchers focused on growth hormone. This hormone is known to reduce fat and inflammation in the body. People who are overweight often have lower levels of growth hormone, which might be one reason they are more likely to get NAFLD.
The scientists wanted to see if giving extra growth hormone could help reduce liver fat and improve liver health.
The study included 41 adults with NAFLD who were overweight or obese. Half of them were given growth hormone, and the other half were given a placebo (a fake treatment that looks the same). Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was getting the real hormone. The treatment lasted six months.
At the end of the study, the group that received growth hormone had a clear improvement. They had less fat in their liver compared to the placebo group. They also showed signs of lower liver inflammation and scarring, which are important signs of healing. MRI scans showed better liver condition, and blood tests also showed lower levels of inflammation.
Importantly, the treatment was safe and well tolerated. No major side effects were reported.
This study suggests that growth hormone may be a helpful new way to treat NAFLD and possibly prevent it from turning into more serious liver disease like NASH or cirrhosis. Although more research is still needed, these early results are promising.
The study was led by Dr. Laura Dichtel and her team, and the results were published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
If you care about liver health, please read studies about a diet that can treat fatty liver disease and obesity, and coffee drinkers may halve their risk of liver cancer.
For more information about liver health, please see recent studies that anti-inflammatory diet could help prevent fatty liver disease, and results showing vitamin D could help prevent non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
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