ArticleOncotarget2018
Thiazolidinediones versus metformin on improving abnormal liver enzymes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis.
Article in Oncotarget, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of variable-dose metformin as adjunctive therapy to insulin in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMC endocrine disorders · 2025Pooled it
- Early Biomarkers of Neurodegenerative and Neurovascular Disorders in Diabetes.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLiver enzyme abnormalities are common in patients with type 2 diabetes. Currently, the inverse relationship between elevated liver enzymes and antidiabetics intake may be explained by rigorous treatment and good control. However, few studies have directly explored the influence of antidiabetics on abnormal liver function, especially the comparison between two insulin sensitizers-thiazolidinediones and metformin. MATERIALS AND
methodsDatabases, including PubMed, Cochrane, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP were searched. Two reviewers performed independently. Meta-analysis was used when studies were homogeneous enough.
resultsSix studies, including 4726 patients with type 2 diabetes, were involved in this systematic review. Compared with metformin, thiazolidinediones significantly reduced the alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. Further subgroup analysis suggested that pioglitazone-treated participants showed vast improvement in decreasing alanine transaminase (MD = -13.70; 95% CI = -16.91 to -10.52;
conclusionsThiazolidinediones may confer modest biological improvement of liver function in people with type 2 diabetes than metformin. But owing to the limited methodological quality, more clinical researches are warranted in the future.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.