Comparison of glimepiride and linagliptin in the treatment of non-alcoholic hepatic disease with Type 2 diabetes mellitus

IntroductionNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with severe clinical outcomes. MicroRNA (miR)-210 has been reported to be related to T2DM and lipid metabolism. This study aimed to determine whether miR-210 can predict the effects of glimepiride and linagliptin on NAFLD with T2DM.Material and methodsA total of 86 patients with NAFLD with T2DM were randomly categorized into two groups and treated with either linagliptin (5 mg/daily) or glimepiride (2 mg/daily) for 6 months. Furthermore, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to evaluate the expression level of miR-210 in the patients’ serum.ResultsCompared with glimepiride, linagliptin was able to significantly reduce the fasting blood glucose level (P = 0.039). Moreover, the expression level of miR-210 was positively correlated with fasting blood glucose level (r = 0.272, P = 0.011) and 2 h post-breakfast blood glucose level (r = 0.245, P = 0.023). The fasting insulin level was negatively correlated with the expression level of miR-210 (r = −0.224, P = 0.038). Also, the alanine transaminase (ALT) level (r = 0.438, P < 0.001) and ALT/aspartate aminotransferase ratio (r = 0.382, P < 0.001) were positively correlated with miR-210 expression.ConclusionsIn summary, linagliptin was not significantly different from glimepiride in improving the hepatic and renal functions and in reducing the blood lipid level. miR-210 expression was linked to blood glucose and lipid levels and hepatic function, which indicates its role as a prognostic biomarker in the treatment of NAFLD with T2DM using linagliptin and glimepiride.