No abstract

No abstract

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common obesity-related disease. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of pioglitazone on NAFLD in morbid obese patients. Materials and Methods: This is a randomized controlled trial study that was performed in 2020–2021 on 44 patients who had grade 3 NAFLD. At the beginning of the study, we collected the following data: age, gender, body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBS), lipid profile, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and the total size and volume of the liver and the left lobe of the liver. Patients in the control group were given a special diet. For patients in the treatment group, pioglitazone 15 mg tablets were administered twice daily for 4 months. Results: At the beginning of the study, all patients in both groups had grade 3 of NAFLD. After the treatments, 50% of the pioglitazone group had grade 1 NAFLD, and 50% of other patients had grade 2 that showed significant improvements in patients (P < 0.001). We also found significant improvements in the following items in the intervention group: liver size (P < 0.001), size of the left liver lobe (P < 0.001), FBS (P = 0.036), ALT (P = 0.011), and BMI (P < 0.001). No significant improvements were found in the control group (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The use of pioglitazone for 4 months resulted in improvements in fatty liver stage, liver size, BMI, FBS, and lipid profile. These data show the effectiveness of pioglitazone in NAFLD.

Background: Endothelial function plays a critical role in cardiovascular homeostasis. Morbid obesity is associated with an enhanced risk of atherosclerosis and chronic inflammation. Bariatric surgery (BS) is a promising method used recently for weight loss; however, the number of studies that have examined the effect of BS on endothelial function is limited. This study aimed to investigate the association between endothelial function evaluated by flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and weight loss after BS. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in Isfahan, Iran, and included 40 healthy obese individuals who underwent BS as an intervention group and 40 healthy obese patients who did not undergo BS as a control group in a 6-month follow-up duration period. FMD as an indicator of endothelial function was evaluated in these participants. FMD <7.1% is considered abnormal. Results: There was no significant difference between control and BS groups in terms of age and body mass index (BMI) at baseline. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of FMD in the BS group pre- and post-intervention were 12.95 ± 6.90 and 37.65 ± 13.52 respectively and the mean ± SD of FMD in the control group were 15.88 ± 6.85 and 15.85 ± 5.83. The association between significant weight loss after BS and FMD was strongly significant ( P < 0.001). Conclusions: According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that BS has been effective in terms of improving the FMD as an indicator of endothelial function.