Pemafibrate Dramatically Ameliorated the Values of Liver Function Tests and Fibrosis Marker in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease related to metabolic syndrome, which can progress to liver cirrhosis. Standard medication has not been established. Pemafibrate is a selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α modulator. We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of pemafibrate in patients with NAFLD. Methods We retrospectively enrolled 17 patients (ten men, seven women; median age, 63 years; range, 27-81 years). They were all proven to have fatty liver through imaging and had little or no history of drinking (ethanol consumption of < 20 g/day for women and < 30 g/day for men). They were administered pemafibrate from October 2018 to June 2020. Results After administration, serum triglyceride (TG) tended to be decreased (300.5 ± 22.5 to 239.5 ± 34.3 mg/dL, P = 0.06). Serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels did not change. ALT was significantly decreased (-47.4%) for six months (57.5 ± 8.8 to 30.3 ± 5.8 U/L, P < 0.01). The values of serum GGT significantly decreased (-48.7%) for sixth months (63.9 ± 10.3 to 32.8 ± 6.6 U/L, P < 0.01). Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio (APRI), a fibrosis marker, also was significantly decreased in the sixth month (0.7 ± 0.1 to 0.4 ± 0.1, P < 0.05). Body mass index (BMI) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) showed no significant change. Conclusion Pemafibrate dramatically ameliorated the values of liver function tests and APRI in patients with NAFLD.