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Table 1 Therapeutic agents for T2DM and their effect NAFLD/NASH in clinical trials

From: Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Treatment

Mechanism of action

AST/ALT

Liver fat by imaging

Liver histology

Oral

 Metformin [38,45-48]

Insulin-sensitizer

↓

↓*,↔^

Unchanged

 Pioglitazone [52, 53, 55]

PPARγ agonist

↓

↓^

Improved

 Sitagliptin [72, 80, 81]

DPP-4 inhibitor

↓

n/a

n/a

 Vildagliptin [82]

DPP-4 inhibitor

↓

↓^

n/a

 Canagliflozin [90]

Inhibits renal glucose reabsortion

↓

n/a

n/a

 Dapagliflozin [91, 92]

Inhibits renal glucose reabsortion

↓

n/a

n/a

Injectable

 Exenatide [70]

GLP-1 receptor agonist

↓

↓^

n/a

 Liraglutide [69-75]

GLP-1 receptor agonist

↓

↓**,^

Improved

  1. *NAFLD assessed by ultrasound, **NAFLD assessed by CT, ^NAFLD assessed by MRI/1H-MRS, n/a: data not available