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Effect of liraglutide on epicardial adipose tissue thickness with echocardiography in patients with obese type 2 diabetes mellitus

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Abstract

Background

Liraglutide, an analogue of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), has shown the effect on loss of weight and adipose deposits. The study was to evaluate the effect of liraglutide on epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) with echocardiography in patients with obese T2DM controlled on liraglutide monotherapy.

Methods

A single-arm follow-up research was performed in our study. Thirty-six subjects with obese T2DM were enrolled in the study, who were administered with liraglutide monotheraphy daily. The study period was 3 months. EAT thickness was measured with echocardiography both before and after treatment in each subject; meanwhile, anthropometrics and biochemicals (fasting blood glucose and hemoglobinA1c) were also conducted.

Results

EAT thickness decreased significantly after three-month treatment, from 9.14 ± 2.39 to 6.42 ± 1.48 mm (p < 0.05). Anthropometrics including body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and some biochemicals including fasting blood glucose (FBG), hemoglobinA1c (HbA1c), C-peptide, insulin, HOMA-IR, AST, ALT, and urinary albumin significantly improved (totally p< 0.05). Interestingly, the variation of EAT thickness had positive correlation with the variations of WC, HC, and BMI.

Conclusions

Liraglutide is beneficial to the decrease of EAT. EAT thickness can be measured with echocardiography to evaluate the effect of liraglutide in obese T2DM patients.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Department of Ultrasound and Endocrinology of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ultrasound, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China

    Ying Li & Guangsen Li

  2. Department of Endocrinology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China

    Xuewei Liu & Ping Zhang

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Correspondence to Guangsen Li or Ping Zhang.

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All the subjects submitted written informed consent after in detail understanding the study protocol and possible risks. The design proposal, methods of material collection, and data analysis were consistent with the declaration of Helsinki and were approved by the Ethics Committee of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University (Dalian, China; Approval number, KY2015-128).

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Li, Y., Liu, X., Li, G. et al. Effect of liraglutide on epicardial adipose tissue thickness with echocardiography in patients with obese type 2 diabetes mellitus. Int J Diabetes Dev Ctries 40, 500–506 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13410-020-00820-9

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