SGLT2 Inhibitors as a Novel Treatment for Pediatric Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Phase 2

Not yet recruiting

• Conditions: NAFLD; Pediatric NAFLD; Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
• Interventions: Drug: Empagliflozin 10 MG; Drug: Placebo Oral Tablet

• Registration Number: NCT03867487
• Lead Sponsor: Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Brief Summary

This study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial specifically designed to evaluate the preliminary feasibility, initial efficacy and safety of SGLT2 inhibitors for treating NAFLD in adolescents with obesity.

Detailed Description

The overall aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility and obtain a preliminary estimate of efficacy and safety of the SGLT2 inhibitor, empagliflozin, in adolescents with obesity (BMI-percentile ≥95th) who have MRI-confirmed NAFLD (hepatic fat fraction ≥ 5.5%) and have normal fasting glucose.

Participants will take empagliflozin, once daily, in the morning, with or without food, in addition to receiving lifestyle/behavioral counseling throughout the study.

The following data will be collected throughout the course of the study: Physical exam with tanner staging, safety and fasting labs, fasting blood draw (biomarkers), urine sample, stool sample, OGTT, CGM sensor placement and removal, MRI scan (MRS-Liver), BMI/anthropometrics, urine pregnancy test for female participants, iDXA scan (body fat and bone density), arterial stiffness and blood pressure.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2019-02-28
• Study First Submitted QC: 2019-03-05
• Study First Posted: 2019-03-08
• Status Verified: 2024-11
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-11-08
• Last Update Posted: 2024-11-11
• Study Start: 2025-05-01
• Primary Completion: 2028-01-01
• Study Completion: 2028-02-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 40

Inclusion Criteria

For clinical referral to screening visit:

1. Age: 12 to <20 years old
2. Diagnosis of Obesity: BMI-percentile ≥95th (using age- and sex- based Center for Disease Control definitions) or BMI ≥30 kg/m2
3. Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) more than twice the upper limit of normal by gender (≥44 U/L for girls, ≥50 U/L for boys) within 3 months prior to screening (used for historic ALT value) OR diagnosis of NAFLD from ultrasound, MRI, or participants with biopsy-proven NASH within 12 moths of screening
4. History of lifestyle modification to treat obesity or NAFLD

To be obtained at screening visit:

1. Confirmation of Obesity

2. Tanner stage 2

3. Normal fasting glucose tolerance (fasting blood glucose <100 mg/dL)

4. If Screening ALT is used as inclusion criteria [if > 2x historic ALT value (historical value obtained clinically within 12 months of screening visit), repeated after 4 weeks [unable to randomize until completed]]. If the repeat ALT is more than 50% increased or decreased over the screening ALT, a third ALT should be obtained. If a third ALT is not within 50% of the previous value, then the subject is ineligible but may be screened at a later date. If ALT is not used:

   • An ultrasound will be done to diagnose NAFLD if the diagnosis has not previously been made by ultrasound, MRI or biopsy
   • A MRI-derived HFF ≥ 5.5%

5. Willingness to adhere to lifestyle considerations throughout the study

Exclusion Criteria

1. ALT > 250U/L at screening

2. History of significant alcohol intake or current use

3. Impaired fasting glucose (>100 mg/dL)

4. Diabetes (type 1 or 2)

5. Current or recent (<6 months prior to enrollment) use of weight loss medication(s)

6. Vitamin E supplementation

7. Previous bariatric surgery

8. Use of metformin

9. Prior use of empagliflozin

10. Lower limb infection/ulceration within 3 months of screening

11. Metal or magnetic implants, devices or objects inside of or on the body, which are not MRI compatible

12. Structural and functional urogenital abnormalities, that predispose for urogenital infections

13. Recent initiation (<3 months prior to enrollment) of anti-hypertensive or lipid medication(s)

14. Major psychiatric disorder

15. Current pregnancy or plans to become pregnant.Females unwilling to be tested for pregnancy. Females will be tested for pregnancy. Females who are sexually active and not protected by an effective method of birth control (e.g. UID or medication or patch)

16. Tobacco use

17. Significant liver dysfunction (levels >5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN)):

    ALT (ULN = 50 U/L) AST (ULN = 48 U/L) GGT (ULN = 48 U/L) ALP (ULN = 115 U/L)

18. Platelets < 150,000 cells/mm3

19. Total bilirubin 1.3 mg/dL

20. INR 1.3

21. Albumin <3.2 g/dL

22. Gilbert's Syndrome

23. Any known causes of liver disease (except NAFLD and NASH)

24. Significant renal dysfunction (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] < 90 mL/min/1.73 m2),

25. Diagnosed monogenic obesity

26. History of cancer

27. Untreated thyroid disorder

28. History of decompensation events (ascites, variceal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy, or hepatocellular carcinoma)

29. Current or recent (<6 months prior to enrollment) use of medication(s) associated with weight gain (e.g. atypical anti-psychotics)

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Study intervention	Empagliflozin 10 MG	Empagliflozin 10 mg will be taken daily
Control arm	Placebo Oral Tablet	Placebo oral tablet will be taken daily

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Efficacy as Measured by Change in Hepatic Fat Fraction (HFF)	Baseline to 26 weeks	HFF is measured by MRI via 1H- magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). HFF will be measured with single-voxel 1H-MRS on a 3.0 T Trio whole body MRI scanner, using the software package provided by the vendor. The MR elastography measurement will consist of a phase-contrast 2D GRE scan (TR/TE = 50/25 ms, matrix 256 x 90, GRAPPA R=3, slice thickness 7mm) with motion encoding in the z-direction, and acoustic excitation at 60 Hz. Four axial slices will be acquired, each with a single breath-hold. Manual ROIs covering the liver will be drawn on the stiffness maps (in kPa units) generated by the system software. Fibrosis staging will be determined following previously published guidelines.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Body Measurements: Body mass index (BMI)	Baseline to 26 weeks	Height and weight will be measured using a calibrated, wall-mounted stadiometer and an electronic scale, respectively. Three consecutive height and weight measurements will be obtained and averaged. BMI will be calculated as the weight in kilograms divided by the height in meters, squared.
Change in Body Measurements: Visceral Fat %	Baseline to 26 weeks	Total body fat mass and visceral fat mass will be determined by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (iDXA, GE Healthcare). Visceral fat percentage of total body mass is calculated by visceral fat mass divided by the sum of total fat and lean masses. Visceral fat percentage of total fat mass is calculated by visceral fat mass divided by total fat mass.
Change in Biomarkers of NAFLD: Alanine transaminase (ALT)	Baseline to 26 weeks	Fasting (≥12 hours) blood will be collected for the measurement of ALT at Fairview Diagnostics Laboratories, Fairview-University Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN - a Center for Disease Control and Prevention certified laboratory.
Change in Glycemic Control	Baseline to 26 weeks	After fasting measures are completed, we will perform a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test with fasting (-15 and 0-min) and serial postprandial (15-, 30-, 45-, 60-, 90-, and 120-minutes) plasma concentrations of glucose (glucose oxidase, YSI INC., Yellow Sprigs, OH) and insulin (ELISA, ALPCO Diagnostics, Windham, NH) measured after administration of a 75g glucose challenge. Samples will be batched and a stored for analysis at the completion of the study. Insulin sensitivity will be estimated by the whole-body insulin sensitivity index (WBISI) using plasma glucose and insulin concentrations.
Change in Body Measurements: Body Fat %	Baseline to 26 weeks	Total percent body fat mass and lean muscle mass will be determined by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (iDXA, GE Healthcare). Body fat percentage is calculated by body fat mass divided by the sum of fat and lean masses.
Change in Biomarkers of NAFLD: Cytokeratin (CK)-18	Baseline to 26 weeks	Fasting plasma samples will be used to measure CK-18 via Luminex Multiplex platform (Millipore, St. Louis, MO).
Change in Proton Density Fat Fraction (PDFF) from MRI	Baseline to 26 weeks	A proton density fat fraction (PDFF) image will be acquired using LiverLab's "qdixon" imaging acquisition (3D gradient echo, TR=9ms, flip angle=4°, TE=1.15, 2.46, 3.69, 4.92, 6.15, 7.38 ms, 2x2x3.5mm resolution, one 17s breath-hold). The MRS measurement of HFF will be used as the primary metric. As a secondary endpoint we will use PDFF which has shown promise as a measure of fibrosis staging compared to liver biopsy in children.
Change in Blood Pressure	Baseline to 26 weeks	Blood pressure measurements will be obtained manually on the same arm using the same cuff size and equipment. Standardized procedures will be employed as described in previously published standards. Individual cuff size will be determined by measuring the arm circumference midway between the acromial process and the bony olecranon. Sitting blood pressure and heart rate will be measured after the participant has been resting quietly without legs crossed for 10 minutes. Measurements will be made three consecutive times (3-minute intervals). The final two of three independent measurements will be averaged.
Change in Arterial Stiffness	Baseline to 26 weeks	Carotid- and femoral artery augmentation index and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) will be measured by the SphygmoCor® MM3 system (AtCor Medical, Sydney, Australia). Augmentation index is a measure of the relative magnitude of the reflected (or retrograde) pulse wave early in the cardiac cycle. Higher values of augmentation index represent increased arterial stiffening. PWV will be calculated as distance divided by transit time. Since pulse wave transit time decreases in stiffer arterial segments, higher values of pulse wave velocity represent increased arterial stiffness.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago; 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States