A groundbreaking clinical trial has revealed that the popular weight-loss drug Ozempic, also known as Wegovy, can stop and even reverse fatty liver disease. The results, published on April 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that nearly twice as many people taking the drug experienced a reversal of fatty liver disease compared to those taking a placebo.
Specifically, 63% of people using semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic/Wegovy) showed improvement, compared to only 34% of those given a placebo.
Fatty liver disease, also called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), is a condition where fat accumulates in the liver, causing inflammation and scarring.
Over time, this damage can lead to severe health issues, including liver failure and even cancer. In the United States alone, about 15 million adults suffer from MASH, which is often linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
Dr. Arun Sanyal, the director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health, led the research.
According to him, the trial results provide strong evidence that semaglutide not only improves liver health but also addresses the root causes of the disease—like obesity and insulin resistance. This makes it a potentially powerful treatment option for millions of people.
Semaglutide is classified as a GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) drug. It works by mimicking a natural hormone in the body that helps regulate blood sugar and insulin levels, reduces appetite, and slows the digestion of food. This combination of effects not only helps with weight loss but also reduces strain on the liver by lowering fat buildup.
The clinical trial involved 800 participants from 37 countries who had moderate to severe liver scarring due to fatty liver disease. They were randomly divided into two groups: about two-thirds received semaglutide, while the rest took a placebo. The participants were observed for 72 weeks—over a year and a half.
The findings were impressive. Not only did more people taking semaglutide experience a reversal of fatty liver disease, but about 37% of them also showed a reduction in liver scarring, compared to only 23% in the placebo group.
Additionally, a third of those on semaglutide experienced improvements in both inflammation and scarring, more than double the improvement seen in the placebo group.
But the benefits didn’t stop there. Patients on semaglutide also saw improvements in weight loss, better liver function, and even stronger heart health. This is crucial because fatty liver disease is often linked with heart problems, and treating both conditions simultaneously could significantly boost overall health.
Currently, only one treatment for fatty liver disease is approved by the U.S. government: Rezdiffra (resmetirom). This drug works by activating thyroid hormone receptors to reduce fat buildup in the liver. However, semaglutide’s unique ability to target both the liver and its underlying metabolic issues could make it a more comprehensive treatment.
The company behind semaglutide, Novo Nordisk, has plans to seek approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to officially market the drug as a treatment for fatty liver disease. If successful, this could transform the way doctors manage the condition, providing millions of patients with a new option to not only stop liver damage but also reverse it.
The study’s findings are a major breakthrough because they highlight how managing underlying metabolic issues can directly improve liver health. Fatty liver disease has long been considered a challenging condition to treat, with lifestyle changes like diet and exercise being the primary recommendations.
Now, with the potential approval of semaglutide, there may be a medical treatment that effectively targets the disease at its core.
If approved, semaglutide could become a first-choice treatment for people suffering from fatty liver disease, offering hope for reversing liver damage and preventing the progression to more serious liver conditions.
The next steps involve more testing and official review by the FDA, but the outlook is promising. For millions of people, this could mean not just managing symptoms, but potentially healing their liver and improving their overall health.
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The research findings can be found in New England Journal of Medicine.
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