The aim of this study was to examine the association between hepatic fat content and hepatic perfusion and metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes and compare them to age-matched healthy male subjects. The study sample included 59 men with well-controlled type 2 diabetes and 18 age-matched healthy normoglycemic men, aged 45-65 years, without diabetes-related complications. Subjects underwent positron emission tomography to assess hepatic tissue perfusion, insulin-stimulated glucose, and fasting fatty acid metabolism as well as proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to quantify hepatic triglyceride content. Results revealed decreased hepatic parenchymal perfusion and insulin-stimulated hepatic glucose uptake in type 2 diabetic patients with increased liver triglyceride content compared with control subjects and type 2 diabetic patients with low hepatic triglyceride content. However, only a borderline significant difference was observed in the fasting hepatic fatty acid influx rate constant in patients with high liver triglyceride content. Moreover, hepatic triglyceride content was inversely related to hepatic parenchymal perfusion, hepatic glucose uptake and hepatic fatty acid influx rate constant. These results suggest that type 2 diabetic patients with high liver triglyceride content have an altered hepatic physiology.
Documentation centre