ABSTRACT Aims Metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a chronic liver disease closely associated with metabolic dysfunction. Research into a feasible, rapid, and effective assessment method is crucial for evaluating the therapeutic effects of semaglutide in MASLD. This study aims to explore the fast quantitative evaluation of the amelioration effect in MASLD during semaglutide therapy using ultrasound‐derived fat fraction (UDFF) and fat‐to‐muscle ratio (FMR). Methods This prospective study enrolled patients diagnosed with MASLD who were planned to be treated with subcutaneous injection of semaglutide. All patients underwent UDFF measurements (six acquisitions for each patient) using the Acuson Sequoia ultrasound system (Siemens Healthineers, Mountain View, USA) to assess hepatic steatosis before and 14 ± 2 weeks after treatment. Body composition (body weight, visceral fat area, percent body fat, waist circumference, waist‐to‐hip ratio, skeletal muscle mass index, and FMR) was analyzed by phase‐sensitive bio‐impedance. FMR was obtained to evaluate the ratio of fat mass to skeletal muscle mass. The Spearman correlation was performed to compare clinical, ultrasound parameters, and serum biomarkers. Results From July 2023 to June 2024, 22 patients (77.3% female) were included, with a median body mass index of 32.6 kg/m 2 . Semaglutide treatment resulted in a median weight loss of 7.5 kg from baseline. Most patients (19/22, 86.3%) achieved a significant weight reduction (weight loss ≥ 5%). Specifically, four patients had a weight loss of ≥ 5% and < 7%, nine patients had a weight loss of ≥ 7% and < 10%, and six patients had a weight loss of ≥ 10%. UDFF values were significantly decreased at follow‐up compared with those at baseline (9.4% vs. 21.8%; p < 0.001) and reached the highest reduction (49.4%). UDFF values were positively correlated with body composition at baseline ( r = 0.33–0.54) and follow‐up ( r = 0.30–0.65). The reduction of FMR (13.1%) was the second highest among body composition measures, after that of visceral fat area (17.3%). FMR values had a high correlation with visceral fat area at both baseline and follow‐up ( r = 0.70 and r = 0.80, respectively, both p < 0.001). Conclusion UDFF and FMR values could be used as fast quantitative tools for assessing hepatic steatosis and myosteatosis in MASLD during semaglutide therapy.
Wang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.