Effects of Metformin Therapy on Pancreatic and Hepatic Fat Content in Patients of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

A chronic metabolic disorder described by continuous hyperglycemia we call Diabetes mellitus or DM. this metabolic disorder could be for various reasons like resisting to marginal action of insulin, also could be due to diminished secretion of insulin, or maybe both. This Chronic hyperglycemia could be responsible for other kinds of abnormalities and therefore damage various organs in the patient, sometimes this also could even be life threatening complications.

NAFLD (Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease) has the highest incidence rate among obese and diabetic patients. In various studies, it has been found that Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) exist together which is a metabolic disorder. It has been found that the occurrence of NAFLD is 59.67% among T2DM patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), simple steatosis (NAFL), and cirrhosis.

The studies reveal that NAFLD of 70% is usually found among T2DM patients. It is also observed that obesity and insulin resistance is correlated with NAFLD.

Noninvasive assessment and staging of disease are based on clinical parameters such as age, sex, liver function test, platelet count, lipid profile, BMI, and imaging modalities such as USG, Fibro-scan (FS), and magnetic resonance imaging mass spectroscopy. Such clinical scoring systems and TE are useful in the early detection of NAFLD and predicting fibrosis. The principle behind the management of NAFLD with T2DM involves an indirect effect through improvement in IR and glycemia and thus is used for the treatment of T2DM as well.

In addition to this, fatty pancreas is gaining importance from the research point of view. Study done by our group also showed that subcutaneous and intra-abdominal obesity, including fatty liver and pancreatic volume, were larger in non-obese Asian Indians with type 2 diabetes than in BMI-matched non-diabetic participants, whereas peripheral subcutaneous adiposity was lower. A study done in animal model shows that metformin exerted a beneficial effect in limiting beta-proliferation caused by high fat diet (HFD) fed to mice and also improved insulin resistance. Another study also showed similar effects of Metformin therapy, as it decreased the amount of fat in the liver in parallel with an improvement in the metabolic parameters and may, thus, be beneficial for preventing the late consequences of NAFLD in newly diagnosed diabetic patients.

The study mentioned below predicted that Metformin would considerably reduce pancreatic and liver fat in T2DM patients. Metformin does not appear to cause or exacerbate liver injury and, indeed, is often beneficial in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Nonalcoholic fatty liver frequently presents with transaminase elevations but should not be considered a contraindication to metformin use. Literature evidence of liver disease being associated with metformin-associated metabolic acidosis is largely represented by case reports.

A recent study from Korea shows that in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus, the mean FIB-4 score increased from 1.38 to 1.51 (p=0.001) after 2 years of metformin therapy, whereas the mean HSI score fell from 27.3 to 26.5 (p=0.001).

While these studies established that hepatic fat and pancreatic volume are high even in non-obese patients with T2DM, we were unable to estimate of hepatic and pancreatic fat precisely due to non-availability of advanced fat-imaging MRI software.

Review of Literature: Effects of SGLT2 Inhibitors and Abdominal Adipose Tissue Depots Metformin is an effective agent which helps to achieve better blood glucose control. This drug also benefits in the reduction of weight and blood pressure. Metformin results in weight loss.

Effect on Fat Mass:

Apart from weight loss, Metformin has been shown to reduce fat. It was reported that the use of Metformin significantly reduces body weight in T2DM patients on metformin therapy and inadequate glycemic control.