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Director of the University Hospitals Center for Cardiovascular Prevention will present the effect of the weight-loss drug on fat distribution at ADA 2021 Virtual Scientific Sessions
LINKÖPING, Sweden, June 22, 2021 – Researchers from the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center conducted a phase 4, randomized clinical trial (NCT03038620).This independent research was supported by an investigator-initiated grant, for which Novo Nordisk provided funding and study drug, where AMRA’s technique was utilized to assess the efficacy of weight-management drug Liraglutide 3.0 mg on reducing visceral adiposity. Data from the trial will be presented by Dr. Ian J. Neeland, Director of University Hospitals Center for Cardiovascular Prevention in Cleveland, OH at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) virtual conference—scheduled for June 25 to 29, 2021.
Obesity is a global epidemic—affecting 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 5 children. It can lead to the development of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, and diabetes, as well as death, making it a major public health concern.
While the health risks associated with obesity are clear, the definition of obesity is based on simple anthropometric measurements, the body mass index (BMI), which can be an insufficient indicator of cardiometabolic and cardiovascular disease risk when used alone. To address the obesity epidemic, clinicians and clinical researchers are seeking more accurate markers for defining obesity and identifying individuals with an elevated risk for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases that may benefit from preventive and therapeutic strategies.
“Advanced body fat imaging is becoming the gold standard for clinical obesity research due to rapidly improving technology, increased accessibility, and lower cost of advanced imaging. The evolution of coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring is a paradigm example of how advanced imaging can inform risk assessment and preventive/therapeutic decision-making. Much in the same way that CAC provides important risk information beyond traditional risk factors, it is possible that advanced body fat imaging may add to and improve current obesity-related risk algorithms, something that body mass index and waist circumference measurement have failed to do,” said Dr. Ian J. Neeland.
The 46-week long clinical trial randomized 185 adults with obesity (BMI>=30 kg/m2) or overweight (BMI >=27 kg/m2) with metabolic syndrome to liraglutide 3.0 mg daily subcutaneous injection or matching placebo. Using AMRA’s MRI protocol, the researchers captured, analyzed, and quantified five precise body composition biomarkers, including total and visceral adipose tissue, abdominal and thigh and buttock subcutaneous adipose tissue, and liver fat fraction for each participant. In addition to efficacy results, the study offers insights into how MRI-based biomarkers can be used in clinical research as a precise and accurate method for evaluating body composition.
Learn more about the study results by viewing the poster presentation at ADA’s Virtual 81st Scientific Sessions.