A Randomized Double Blinded Placebo-Controlled Trial of Semaglutide to Prevent Weight Gain Following Liver Transplantation
Virginia Commonwealth University
Summary
In this study, semaglutide will be compared to placebo (a look-alike inactive substance, a "sugar pill") to determine if its use will prevent weight gain after liver transplantation (LT). In addition, researchers will be testing to determine if semaglutide prevents the development of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) after transplant through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and laboratory results.
Description
Weight gain following LT is common and a risk for cardiovascular disease and development of NAFLD. Developing NAFLD following LT can lead to patients developing scar tissue in the graft (transplanted liver), and graft-cirrhosis. These events can limit the benefit of the transplanted liver graft and reduce the benefit of LT as a therapy. Current weight management strategies have not been successful at the prevention of these events in most patients. This highlights a substantial unmet need for effective treatment to prevent or reduce post-LT weight gain and highlight the importance of new treat…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–75 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Male or female age 18-75 years who received LT for any indication (i.e. NASH, hepatitis C, alcohol-induced cirrhosis, autoimmune hepatitis, etc.) * Liver transplant surgery within 8-24 weeks prior to randomization * Fasting glucose \> 125 mg/dL or presence of diabetes (HbA1c≥6.5% or use of diabetes medications) or pre-diabetes (HbA1c \>5.7%) * Ability to provide informed consent * Discharged from the hospital following LT surgery * Tolerating diet * Normal graft function\* (determined by treating hepatologist/surgeon based on clinical status and hepatic panel) * Stable i…
Interventions
- DrugSemaglutide Pen Injector
Starting dose of 0.24 mg injected weekly and increased every 4 weeks to a potential maximum dose of 2.4 mg weekly at 20 weeks followed by 52 weeks of weekly injections at the maximum tolerable dose
- DrugPlacebo
Placebo solution injected weekly for 72 weeks
Location
- Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, Virginia