Endocrine Abstracts

This study aimed to determine if berberine (BBR) or pioglitazone (PGZ) is more effective and safer for treating people with type 2 diabetes or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). 184 people with NAFLD and impaired glucose metabolism were randomly allocated 16 weeks of lifestyle intervention (LI), LI plus PGZ (15mg daily) or LI plus BBR (1.5 g daily) as their course of treatment. We measured the levels of blood insulin, osteocalcin, C reactive protein (CRP), liver enzymes, glucose and lipid metabolism, and hepatic fat content (HFC) by 1 H-MRS both before and after treatment. In comparison to LI alone, BBR plus LI treatment was linked to significantly greater decreases in HFC (51.30% vs 27.98%), triglycerides, total cholesterol, waist circumference, body weight, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), as well as significant elevation in early phase insulin and serum osteocalcin levels. In terms of 2-hour glucose and ALT, PGZ plus LI considerably outperformed LI group, while the difference in HFC between PGZ and control was not statistically significant (41.02% vs 27.98%). Fasting glucose, LDL-c, HDL-c, HbA1c, glutamyl transferase, serum CRP levels, and aspartate aminotransferase, improved more in the LI+BBR or PGZ group than in the LI group, but the differences between the groups were not statistically significant. There were substantial differences in the incidence of drug-related adverse events between groups. LI, LI+BBR, or LI+PGZ are all successful treatments for NAFLD patients with aberrant glucose metabolism in terms of improving glucose metabolism, lowering HFC, and lowering liver enzymes. The lipid profile, early phase insulin secretion, weight loss, reduction in waist circumference, and serum osteocalcin levels were all improved by BBR more than the other two therapies. All of BBR and PGZ were accepted.