Early research shows the diabetes drug Actos may help treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a common liver disease that currently has no drug treatment.

However, it's too soon to recommend Actos for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients, experts warn. The researchers in this study wanted only to see if Actos was promising enough to deserve a larger, longer study on the possible benefits for NASH patients. They concluded the drug passed that test.

NASH Study

The team studied 55 Texans with NASH. On average, patients were in their late 40s to early 50s and were obese, based on BMI (body mass index), which relates height to weight. In addition to NASH, the patients also had type II diabetes or insulin resistance, a condition which can lead to type II diabetes. Insulin is a hormone that controls blood sugar. In cases of insulin resistance, the body responds sluggishly to the hormone, requiring the body to make more insulin to control blood sugar.

Drug Test
For six months, Belfort's team asked the patients to cut 500 calories from their daily diets and to take either Actos or a sham (placebo) pill daily. The patients didn't know whether they were receiving Actos or the placebo. Before and after liver biopsies were taken, as well as frequent blood tests to monitor the patients' progress. The results showed that, during the study, the Actos patients cut their liver fat by 54%; the placebo group had no change in liver fat. Actos patients also showed a bigger drop in liver inflammation and a greater improvement in insulin response than the placebo group.

This study isn't the final verdict on Actos for NASH treatment. Until further studies are done, NASH patients may want to follow these recommendations:
Lose extra weight if you're obese or overweight
Follow a balanced and healthy diet
Increase physical activity
Avoid alcohol and unnecessary medications.