Effects of Empagliflozin on Glucose Metabolism and Body Fat Composition in Patients with Prediabetes: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

This Medfyle was published more than two years ago. More recent Medfyle on this topic may now be available.

Key messages

• Beneficial effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on glucose metabolism, body adiposity, and liver fat content are well established in diabetes.
• As the mode of action of SGLT2 inhibitors partly depends on elevated blood glucose, we now investigate if these effects also occur in prediabetes.
• Treatment with empagliflozin for 8 weeks had no major effects on glucose metabolism.
• Though, SGLT2 inhibition reduced body adiposity and liver fat content, presumably by shifting energy metabolism towards lipid oxidation.
• Empagliflozin might represent a treatment option for obesity and hepatic steatosis in prediabetes, independent of drug effects on blood glucose.