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Characterization and Management of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD)

Characterization and Management of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) Through an Individualized Nutritionnal Approach and Semaglutide Therapy.

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06764056
Acronym
METAfoie
Enrollment
120
Registered
2025-01-08
Start date
2025-01-31
Completion date
2026-05-31
Last updated
2025-01-08

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Metabolic Associated-dysfunction Steatohepatitis (MASH), Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease, Obesity

Keywords

Obesity, Metabolic associated fatty liver disease, GLP-1 receptor analogs, Pharmacotherapy, Nutrition, Transient elastography, Semaglutide, Microbiome, Lipidomics

Brief summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to improve the treatment of hepatic steatosis associated with obesity with pharmacological and nutritionnal approaches. The main question it aims to answer is: Does an individualized nutritionnal approach with a dietician combined with medication targeting obesity is the most efficient way to treat hepatic steatosis associated with obesity? Participants will either participate in one of three groups: * Nutrition: Participant will only have a regular follow-up with a registered dietician; * Nutrition + Semaglutide: Participants will start a new medication targeting obesity and will have a regular follow-up with a registered dietician; * Semaglutide: Participants will start a new medication targeting obesity.

Detailed description

Participants in each group will be followed during a year for 4 timepoints (0, 3, 6 and 12 months). Blood and feces samples, anthropometric measures, transient elastography measurements and health questionnaires will be assessed at each timepoint. The nutritionnal intervention targeting hepatic steastosis associated with obesity will use conclusions from a systematic review we conducted on nutritionnal approaches to treat liver steatosis.

Interventions

DRUGsemaglutide

Participants receiving this intervention will be starting with a dose of semaglutide 0.25 mg. Physicians will follow Wegovy® Dosing Schedule guidelines, ending with a final dose of 2.4 mg at the fifth month. Type 2 diabetes participants wishing to stop at 1.0 mg will be allowed.

OTHERDiet

Participants receiving this intervention will be seeing a registered dietician at each visit. The individualized approach will be based on recent literature (mostly hypocaloric) by using different methods.

Sponsors

Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec, University Laval
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Body mass index between 30 and 50 kg/m2; * Stade 2 or 3 (S2 or S3) hepatic steatosis with or without liver fibrosis.

Exclusion criteria

* Type 1 diabetes diagnosis; * Alcohol consumption exceeding recommendations \[\>140 g/week (women) and \>210 g/week (men)\]; * Known chronic hepatic disease non-steatotic at the entry of the study (Wilson's disease, hemochromatosis, alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, viral hepatitis, auto-immune hepatitis, etc.); * Pharmacological treatment targeting obesity active or ended in the last 3 months; * Bariatric surgery; * Gastro-intestinal pathologies (GI cancers, IBD, etc.); * Capsulated probiotics consumption; * Antibiotic treatment in the last 3 months; * Pregnancy; * Cirrhosis diagnosis (hepatic decompensation).

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Liver SteatosisFrom enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)Transient elastography is an ultrasound-based modality that is non-invasive and measures the degree of steatosis with the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP; dB/m) and liver stiffness (kPa).This method will be used at each visit to follow the progression and the efficiency of the interventions. The following ranges will be use to classify hepatic steatosis based on CAP (dB/m) (specific to FibroScan®): S0 (\< 302), S1 (302-331), S2 (331-337) and S3 (\>337).
Liver StiffnessFrom enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)Transient elastography is an ultrasound-based modality that is non-invasive and measures the degree of steatosis with the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP; dB/m) and liver stiffness (kPa).This method will be used at each visit to follow the progression and the efficiency of the interventions. The following ranges will be use to classify hepatic fibrosis based on liver stiffness (kPa) (specific to FibroScan®): F0-F1 (\< 8.0), F2 (8.9-9.7), F3 (9.7-13.6) and F4 (\>13.6).

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Lipid panelFrom enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)Blood samples will be drawn at each visit to assess the lipid panel. The following ranges will be used: * triglycerides: \< 1.5 mmol/L; * total cholesterol: \< 5.20 mmol/L; * LDL-cholesterol: \< 2.59 mmol/L; * HDL-cholesterol: \> 1.55 mmol/L;
Change from Baseline in the gut microbiota diversityFrom enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)The composition of the gut microbiota will be measured at each visit with the participants' stool samples. The difference between the concentration of gut microbiota diversity (bacteria, families, phyllum, etc.) will be analyzed.
Change from Baseline in blood lipids and metabolitesFrom enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)We will perform lipidomic and metabolomic measures with blood samples of each visit with liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).
InsulinFrom enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)Blood samples will be drawn at each visit to assess insulin The following range will be used: \- insuline: \[20-60\] pmol/L;
GlucoseFrom enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)Blood samples will be drawn at each visit to assess the glucose. The following range will be used: \- glucose: \< 5.6 mmol/L;
C-reactive proteinFrom enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)Blood samples will be drawn at each visit to assess the c-reactive protein The following range will be used: \- CRP: \< 10 mg/L.
Liver enzymesFrom enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)Blood samples will be drawn at each visit to assess the following measures: liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase \[AST\], alanine aminotransferase \[ALT\], gamma-glutamyl transferase \[GGT\] and alkaline phosphatase \[ALP\]), The following normal ranges will be used: * AST : \[8-33\] U/L; * ALT : \[10-40\] U/L; * GGT : \[2-30\] U/L; * ALP : \[30-120\] U/L.
Fatty liver index (FLI)From enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)The Fatty liver index (FLI) is a non-invasive score to calculate liver steatosis (using BMI, WC, TG and GGT). The following ranges will be used: * \<30 : Low risk of hepatic steatosis ; * \>60 : High risk of hepatic steatosis.
Fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4)From enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)The fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) is a non-invasive score to calculate liver fibrosis (using Age, AST, ALT and Platelet count). The following normal range will be used: \- \<30 : Low risk of hepatic steatosis ; \>60 : High risk of hepatic steatosis. fatty liver index (FLI) and The following range will be used: \- FIB-4 : \>3.48 : High risk of cirrhosis
Glycated hemoglobinFrom enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)Blood samples will be drawn at each visit to assess HbA1c The following range will be used: \- HbA1c: \< 6.5 %;
Liver function (biochemistry)From enrollment to the end of the clinical trial at 12 months (for 4 visits)Blood samples will be drawn at each visit to assess the following measures: liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase \[AST\], alanine aminotransferase \[ALT\], gamma-glutamyl transferase \[GGT\], alkaline phosphatase \[ALP\]), total bilirubin and albumin. Liver scores will also be calculated: fatty liver index (FLI) and fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) The following normal ranges will be used: * AST : \[8-33\] U/L; * ALT : \[10-40\] U/L; * GGT : \[2-30\] U/L; * ALP : \[30-120\] U/L; * Total bilirubin : \[5-21\] umol/L; * Albumin : \[35-30\] g/L. * FLI : \<30 : Low risk of hepatic steatosis ; \>60 : High risk of hepatic steatosis. * FIB-4 : \>3.48 : High risk of cirrhosis

Countries

Canada

Contacts

Primary ContactTristan Rocheleau, RD., M.Sc.
tristan.rocheleau.2@ulaval.ca418-656-8711, #2681
Backup ContactFannie Lajeunesse-Trempe, MD., Ph.D.
fanny.lajeunesse-trempe.1@ulaval.ca418-656-8711, #8052

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026