Cigrovski Berkovic M, Rezic T, Bilic-Curcic I, Mrzljak A. Semaglutide might be a key for breaking the vicious cycle of metabolically associated fatty liver disease spectrum? World J Clin Cases 2022; 10(20): 6759-6768 [PMID: 36051145 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i20.6759]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Anna Mrzljak, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kispaticeva ul 12, Zagreb 10000, Croatia. anna.mrzljak@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Opinion Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Jul 16, 2022; 10(20): 6759-6768 Published online Jul 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i20.6759
Semaglutide might be a key for breaking the vicious cycle of metabolically associated fatty liver disease spectrum?
Maja Cigrovski Berkovic, Tanja Rezic, Ines Bilic-Curcic, Anna Mrzljak
Maja Cigrovski Berkovic, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism and Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Maja Cigrovski Berkovic, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Tanja Rezic, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Clinical Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Ines Bilic-Curcic, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, University Hospital Centre Osijek, Osijek 31000, Croatia
Anna Mrzljak, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Anna Mrzljak, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Author contributions: Cigrovski Berkovic M made contribution to the conception and design of the study, drafted, and revised the manuscript critically; Rezic T, Bilic-Curcic I, and Mrzljak A collected the data, drafted, and wrote the manuscript; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Anna Mrzljak, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kispaticeva ul 12, Zagreb 10000, Croatia. anna.mrzljak@gmail.com
Received: January 6, 2022 Peer-review started: January 6, 2022 First decision: March 9, 2022 Revised: April 10, 2022 Accepted: May 13, 2022 Article in press: May 13, 2022 Published online: July 16, 2022 Processing time: 179 Days and 9.4 Hours
Abstract
Metabolically associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a liver manifestation of metabolic syndrome potentially related to unfavorable hepatic and extrahepatic outcomes and progression to cirrhosis. Up to date, there are no approved pharmacotherapies for the treatment of MAFLD, so management focused on lifestyle interventions to encourage weight loss, and treatment of coexisting conditions is the only available option. Unfortunately, the aforementioned is often not potent enough to offer reversal or slow down hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists have a favorable effect on glycemic management and weight loss of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and recently published data suggest their potential in MAFLD treatment. In addition, some of the agents have proven cardiovascular and renal benefits in dedicated cardiovascular outcome trials, making them an interesting therapeutic option. In this opinion review, we discuss the role of semaglutide in MAFLD.
Core Tip: The pathogenesis of metabolically associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is closely interrelated to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), with insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia as key characteristics. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists have a favorable effect on glycemic management and weight loss in T2DM patients. Semaglutide is an especially interesting agent with favorable metabolic actions in patients sharing T2DM and MAFLD (but also sole MAFLD) phenotype, available in injectable and oral formulation, thus more attractive for a broader spectrum of patients.
