Research
Hormonal
Pioglitazone (30-45 mg) improves hepatic steatosis and inflammation in MASH patients, particularly those with type 2 diabetes, but carries risks of weight gain and bone fractures.
Pioglitazone (30-45mg) improves liver inflammation and fat in MASH, especially for diabetics. However, it causes weight gain and increases fracture risk, so it is used cautiously.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Clinical research has confirmed that the PPAR-γ agonist pioglitazone, could improve hepatic steatosis and inflammation, especially for MASH patients with type 2 diabetes or glucose and lipid metabolism disorder. Clinical trials using pioglitazone (30 mg or 45 mg) showed that it could significantly improve the histological components of MASH (steatosis, ballooning, and lobular inflammation)... However, patients should be vigilant for side effects of pioglitazone, such as weight gain, fluid retention, cardiac decompensation, an increased risk of bone fractures, and bladder cancer.
Why this rating
Supported by clinical trials showing histological improvement.
Source
Drug treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: Progress and direction
Da Zhou et al. · Chinese Medical Journal · 2024
DOI 10.1097/cm9.0000000000003355
narrative_reviewCited 16×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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