Comparison Between the Effect of Empagliflozin and Pioglitazone Added to Metformin in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background/aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), defined as the accumulation of >5% fat in the liver, is the most frequently co-exist disease with diabetics up to 70%. Current study was conducted to compare efficacy of combination therapy of empagliflozin (EMPA) or pioglitazone (PGZ) with metformin (MET) in patients with T2DM and NAFLD. Methods: In this open label, prospective clinical trial, sixty patients were randomly assigned to receive EMPA 10 mg/day or PGZ 30 mg/day in combination Metformin (at least 1500 mg) for six months. NAFLD grade and liver stiffness were defined and measured at the beginning and after 6 months. As the secondary outcomes, anthropometric characteristics, lipid profile, plasma glucose test, and liver enzymes test were measured at the baseline and endpoint. Results: The results showed that both combination therapy with EMPA+ MET or PGZ+MET significantly reversed fibrosis stage of NAFLD (P<0.05). Significant reduction in lipid profile test, and liver enzymes test were seen in both groups (P<0.05). However, the greater reduction in waist circumference was observed in EMPA groups compared to PGZ (-4.4 +/- 2.39 vs -2.05 +/- 1.28, p<0.001), meanwhile weight and BMI decreased significantly only in the patients receiving EMPA (-5.78 +/- 3.6 kg vs 0.93 +/- 0.33 kg and -2.01 +/- 3.19 kg/m(2) vs 0.33 +/- 0.12 kg/m(2), respectively, P<0.001). Conclusion: combination of EMPA or PGZ with metformin equally improved liver fibrosis stage and stiffness in T2DM patients with NAFLD. The improvements of laboratory tests were observed in the both groups, while, regarding weight reduction, only the regimen containing EMPA was effective.