{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T19:55:44Z","timestamp":1792007744909,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,30]],"date-time":"2020-12-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1609286400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Metabolites"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) tested the efficacy of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors to specifically treat nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We systematically searched three electronic databases (up to 31 October 2020) for identifying placebo-controlled or head-to-head RCTs that used SGLT-2 inhibitors for treatment of NAFLD. No published RCTs with paired liver biopsy data were available for the meta-analysis. Primary outcome measures were changes in serum liver enzyme levels and liver fat content on imaging techniques. Overall, we included a total of twelve RCTs testing the efficacy of dapagliflozin (n = six RCTs), empagliflozin (n = three RCTs), ipragliflozin (n = two RCTs) or canagliflozin (n = one RCT) to specifically treat NAFLD for a median period of 24 weeks with aggregate data on 850 middle-aged overweight or obese individuals with NAFLD (90% with type 2 diabetes). Compared to placebo\/reference therapy, treatment with SGLT-2 inhibitors significantly decreased serum alanine aminotransferase (weighted mean differences (WMD): \u221210.0 IU\/L, 95%CI \u221212.2 to \u22127.79 IU\/L; I2 = 10.5%) and gamma-glutamyltransferase levels (WMD: \u221214.49 IU\/L, 95%CI \u221219.35 to \u22129.63 IU\/L, I2 = 38.7%), as well as the absolute percentage of liver fat content on magnetic resonance-based techniques (WMD: \u22122.05%, 95%CI \u22122.61 to \u22121.48%; I2 = 0%). In conclusion, SGLT-2 inhibitors seem to be a promising treatment option for NAFLD.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/metabo11010022","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,30]],"date-time":"2020-12-30T20:13:41Z","timestamp":1609359221000},"page":"22","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":120,"title":["Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors for Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Alessandro","family":"Mantovani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Graziana","family":"Petracca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alessandro","family":"Csermely","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giorgia","family":"Beatrice","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4325-3900","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giovanni","family":"Targher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Study Group, Lonardo, A., Bellentani, S., Argo, C.K., Ballestri, S., Byrne, C.D., Caldwell, S.H., Cortez-Pinto, H., Grieco, A., and Machado, M.V. 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