CONTEXT: The cardiovascular benefits of semaglutide are established; however, its effects on surrogate vascular markers and liver function are not known.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of semaglutide on vascular, endothelial, and liver function in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
METHODS: Overall, 75 consecutive subjects with T2DM and NAFLD were enrolled: 50 patients received semaglutide 1 mg (treatment group) and 25 patients received dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (control group). All patients underwent a clinical, vascular, and hepatic examination with Fibroscan elastography at 4 and 12 months after inclusion in the study.
RESULTS: Treatment with semaglutide resulted in a reduction of Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP) score, E fibrosis score, NAFLD fibrosis score, Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score and perfused boundary region (PBR) at 4 and at 12 months (< .05), contrary to controls. Patients treated with semaglutide showed a greater decrease of central systolic blood pressure (SBP) (-6% vs -4%,= .048 and -11% vs -9%,= .039), augmentation index (AIx) (-59% vs -52%,= .041 and -70% vs -57%,= .022), and pulse wave velocity (PWV) (-6% vs -3.5%,= .019 and -12% vs -10%,= .036) at 4 and at 12 months, respectively. In all patients, ΔPWV and ΔPBR were correlated with a corresponding reduction of CAP, E fibrosis, NAFLD fibrosis, and FIB-4 scores.
CONCLUSION: Twelve-month treatment with semaglutide simultaneously improves arterial stiffness, endothelial function, and liver steatosis and fibrosis in patients with T2DM and NAFLD.