comparison the therapeutic effect of Pioglitazone and Carnitine to Metformin and Carnitine in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract

The present study is a randomized clinical trial in which 80 eligible non-alcoholic fatty liver patients referred to the fatty-liver clinic of the Tabriz University Of Medical Science were randomly enrolled. The clinical records of these patients were reviewed and the basic information of the patients was recorded. Patients were randomly divided into two intervention groups. One group of patients received 30 mg of pioglitazone and 1000 mg of carnitine and the other group received 500 mg of metformin and 1000 mg of carnitine for 6 months daily. In each group, blood samples were taken before, 3 months, and 6 months after administering the drug to evaluate liver enzymes, lipid profile, and FBS. In both study groups, ultrasound of the liver was performed at the beginning and at the end of the study to evaluate the grade of fatty liver. Results: A total of 80 patients were included in the study. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of sonographic fatty liver grade and laboratory tests before the intervention (P-value = 0.36). In the carnitine and pioglitazone groups, a significant decrease in the degree of fatty liver was observed at the end of the study compared to the beginning of the study. (P-value = 0.03); Half of the recipients of these drugs had a reduction in the sonographic grade of the fatty liver during the study. Consumption of carnitine and metformin did not cause a statistically significant change in the degree of fatty liver on ultrasound during the study (P-value = 0.12). Consumption of carnitine and pioglitazone significantly decreased ALP and TG variables, and significantly increased HDL variable over 6 months. Changes in liver enzyme levels were not statistically significant in either group.