Fat content in liver and skeletal muscle changes in a reciprocal manner in patients with acromegaly during combination therapy with a somatostatin analog and a GH receptor antagonist: a randomized clinical trial

CONTEXT: Pegvisomant is a GH antagonist, which is used for the treatment of acromegalic patients. It effectively blocks the hepatic and peripheral effects of GH, but transient elevations in circulating liver enzymes of unknown pathogenesis may occur, which seems to be more prevalent when the treatment is combined with a somatostatin analog (SA). Accumulation of intrahepatic lipid is a known cause of elevated liver enzymes, and there is evidence to suggest that GH impacts lipid content in liver and skeletal muscle.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to measure lipid content in liver and skeletal muscle in acromegalic patients before and after cotreatment with pegvisomant and SA as compared with SA monotherapy.

DESIGN: Eighteen acromegalic patients well controlled on SA monotherapy were randomized in a parallel study over 24 wk to 1) unchanged SA monotherapy, or 2) cotreatment with pegvisomant (15-30 mg twice a week) and SA (half the usual dosage).

SETTING: This was an investigator-initiated study in a single tertiary referral center.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intrahepatic lipid (IHL) and intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) was assessed by ¹H magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

RESULTS: IHL increased in the cotreatment group compared with SA only (P = 0.002). The increase was positively correlated to weekly pegvisomant dose (r² = 0.52; P = 0.01). By contrast, IMCL decreased in the cotreatment group compared with SA only (P = 0.01). These changes related neither to insulin sensitivity nor inflammatory markers.

CONCLUSION: Cotreatment with pegvisomant and a reduced SA dose increase IHL and decrease IMCL compared with SA monotherapy. The clinical implications remain unclear, but increased IHL may be causally linked to the transient elevations in liver enzymes observed during pegvisomant treatment.