Treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with dapagliflozin in non-diabetic patients

Steatosis, a condition characterized by excessive lipid deposition. Although usually a benign condition, steatosis mays progress to cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Recent evidence suggests that SGLT2 inhibitors suppress the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in humans, as well as in rodent models and that SGLT2 inhibitors alleviate hepatic steatosis or steatohepatitis in obese type 2 diabetic rats or mice. 14 Patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease used a fixed dose of 10 mg of dapagliflozin for an average of 75 days. ALT, AST, GGT, insulin, HOMA-IR, and weight levels were significantly lower after treatment. There was no significant correlation between the reduction in HOMA and the reduction in ALT values or weight reduction obtained during treatment and ALT values. •Dapagliflozin significantly reduced: alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT).•Dapagliflozin in patients without type 2 diabetes mellitus significantly reduced: insulin, HOMA-IR and weight levels.•The absence of correlation between reduction of ALT and HOMA-IR or weight indicate possible direct action of dapagliflozin.•Dapagliflozin was well tolerated in non-diabetic patients without reported adverse effects.