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Effect of Liraglutide on Fatty Liver Content and Lipoprotein Metabolism

NCT02721888 · Terminated

Last updated 2026-05-28

This clinical trial tests whether the medication liraglutide affects fat buildup in the liver and fat metabolism in people with type 2 diabetes.

Status Terminated Stopped early and will not restart.
Phase Phase 4 Monitors a drug already on the market.
Type Interventional (clinical trial)
Design open-label (no blinding) treatment study
Participants 127 people
Who can join Ages 18+ · all sexes
Timeline Started 2012-07
Where 1 site · France

What this study is testing ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02721888 ↗

Description as written by the study sponsor.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is commonly associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. NAFLD, in patients with type 2 diabetes, has been shown to be associated with lipid abnormalities (such as hypertriglyceridemia and decreased HDL-cholesterol) and increased cardiovascular risk. Such lipid abnormalities (hypertriglyceridemia and decreased HDL-cholesterol) are very frequent in patients with type 2 diabetes. Moreover, NAFLD is a risk for further development of cirrhosis (estimated between 3 and 5%). Animal studies have shown that liraglutide is able to decrease liver fat content, but the effect of liraglutide on liver fat content in patients with diabetes remains unknown. In addition, human studies with liraglutide have shown significant modification of plasma lipids, such as reduction of plasma triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol. However, the mechanisms responsible for these liraglutide induced lipid modifications are not yet known. Because increased in liver fat content and hypertriglyceridemia are associated in patients with type 2 diabetes, it seems interesting to study the effect of liraglutide on both liver fat content and lipid metabolism using gold-standard methods (proton-spectroscopy for liver fat content assessment and kinetic study with stable isotope to study lipoprotein metabolism). This is a monocentric study. Fatty liver content will be performed by proton-spectroscopy in patients with type 2 diabetes (n=120) before and after a 6 month period of liraglutide therapy (1.2 mg/day). Moreover, an in vivo kinetic study will be performed with stable isotopes (13C leucine) in 10 patients among the 120 patients with type 2 diabetes (n=10) before and after a 6-month period of liraglutide (1.2 mg/day) therapy. Each kinetic study will be performed during a 2-day hospitalization For the main study, 3 visits will be performed: * a first visit at T0, before starting the treatment with liraglutide, including clinical and biological measurements and liver fat content assessment by proton-spectroscopy * a visit at 3 months including clinical and biological measurements * and a visit at 6 months including clinical and biological measurements and liver fat content assessment by proton-spectroscopy For the kinetic substudy, performed in 10 patients, a kinetic study with stable isotope will been performs during a 48h-hospitalization before starting the treatment with liraglutide and after 6 month-treatment with liraglutide

Treatments tested

Main thing measuredEffect of liraglutide on fatty liver content evaluated by proton-spectroscopy (1H-spectroscopy and lipoprotein kinetics, in patients with type 2 diabetes
SponsorCentre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon
Conditions studiedType 2 Diabetes
GLP-1 drugs liraglutide

Full protocol, eligibility, and contacts on ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02721888 ↗