result
result
Drug Shows Promise for Reduced Fatty Liver Disease
Drug Shows Promise for Reduced Fatty Liver Disease
By Denise B. Hensley
The weight-loss drug HU6, a controlled metabolic accelerator, shows promise for treating patients with obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to a study published in Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology where Mazen Noureddin, MD, MHSc, of the Lynda K. and David M. Underwood Center for Digestive Disorders Underwood Digestive Center served as the first author.
“What’s exciting is it’s (HU6 is) a newcomer in a much-needed area,” said Noureddin, Professor of Medicine. MASLD and MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis) are now the most common liver diseases and the leading causes of liver transplant in women, Noureddin noted.
Mazen Noureddin, MD, MHSc
HU6 is an oral medication that leads to fatty acids oxidation and decreases oxidative stress in the liver. It is metabolized in the liver to the mitochondrial uncoupler, increasing substrate utilization so that fat and other carbon sources are oxidized in the body rather than accumulated.
Eighty patients with elevated BMI and 80 percent fat in their liver were studied. Thirty-nine were women, and 41 were men. The aim was to assess the safety and effectiveness of HU6 compared with placebo in people with NAFLD/MASLD and high BMI.
Unlike other weight-loss drugs that possibly deplete muscle mass, HU6 was shown to preserve muscle mass. “On the other hand, it led to a very significant fat reduction in the liver in a very short amount of time,” Noureddin said. “The drug was very well tolerated.”
Researchers also found the higher the dose, the more significant the results. Relative mean change in liver fat content from baseline to day 61 was -26·8% for the HU6 150 mg group, -35·6% for the HU6 300 mg group, -33·0% for the HU6 450 mg group, and 5·4% for the placebo group. In the HU6 dose group, 61% of participants experienced a minimum 30% reduction in liver fat, with higher responder rates observed at the 300 mg (71%) and 450 mg (72%) doses, as noted by investigators. No serious TEAEs were reported.