Effect of Switching to Once-Weekly Semaglutide on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: The SWITCH-SEMA 1 Subanalysis

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an important common comorbidity in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Although some glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) have beneficial effects on NAFLD, the efficacy of once-weekly semaglutide has not been established. This was a s...

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Main Authors: Hiroshi Nomoto, Yuka Takahashi, Yoshinari Takano, Hiroki Yokoyama, Kazuhisa Tsuchida, So Nagai, Aika Miya, Hiraku Kameda, Kyu Yong Cho, Akinobu Nakamura, Tatsuya Atsumi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-08-01
Series:Pharmaceutics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/8/2163
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Summary:Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an important common comorbidity in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Although some glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) have beneficial effects on NAFLD, the efficacy of once-weekly semaglutide has not been established. This was a subanalysis of the SWITCH-SEMA 1 study, a multicenter, prospective, randomized, parallel-group trial comparing switching from liraglutide or dulaglutide to once-weekly semaglutide in subjects with T2DM (SWITCH) versus continuing current GLP-1RAs (Continue) for 24 weeks. This subanalysis consisted of participants who were suspected to have NAFLD [fatty liver index (FLI) ≥ 30]. In total, 58 participants met the criteria of this subanalysis. There were no statistical differences in baseline characteristics between the SWITCH (<i>n</i> = 31) and Continue groups (<i>n</i> = 27). FLI significantly improved during treatment in the SWITCH group (68.6 to 62.7) but not in the Continue group (71.1 to 72.3) (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The improvement of FLI in the SWITCH group was greater in switching from dulaglutide to semaglutide and significantly correlated with older age (<i>p</i> = 0.016) and lower baseline FLI (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the switch from dulaglutide was associated with an improvement in FLI (<i>p</i> = 0.041). Switching from conventional GLP-1RAs to once-weekly semaglutide might be beneficial for individuals with NAFLD complicated with T2DM.
ISSN:1999-4923