Wu QL, Zeng SX, Peng JY, Yuan Y, Zhu Z, Xie ZC, Huang ZH, Huang JS, Lai JM, Chen JA, Lin MH. Advances in metformin for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children.
Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 2022;
16:863-877. [PMID:
36039840 DOI:
10.1080/17474124.2022.2118112]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
The increased economic and social burdens for NAFLD worldwide make treating such a disease a significant public health issue. Metformin, a kind of insulin sensitizer generally used to treat type 2 diabetes, has been recently found to have efficacy on children's NAFLD in various areas such as glucolipid metabolism, intestinal bacterial metabolism, oxidative stress, and anti-inflammatory response. This article aims to provide an overview of the possible mechanisms of NAFLD in children and the potential therapeutic application of metformin.
AREAS COVERED
The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE database was systematically searched on 12 April 2022, using the keywords metformin; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; and children to identify similar studies. An additional search for recently published research was performed in June 2020.
EXPERT OPINION
Although metformin has been proved to have an excellent therapeutic effect on children's NAFLD; we can still explore its potential impacts and mechanisms from different angles, such as combined medication. At the same time, we should also pay attention to its side effects.
Collapse