LOS ANGELES, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ACTG, a global clinical trials network focused on HIV and other infectious diseases, today announced data finding that treating people living with HIV and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) with semaglutide significantly improved a variety of biomarkers of cardiovascular risk. These results from the SLIM LIVER study (also known as A5371) will be shared as a poster presentation, “Semaglutide Improves Markers of Cardiovascular Risk in People with HIV: The SLIM LIVER Study” today, Monday, November 10, at 1:00 pm ET at the 2025 AASLD Liver Meeting, taking place in Washington D.C.
SLIM LIVER was the first clinical trial to test semaglutide as a treatment for MASLD in people living with HIV. MASLD, previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is a common and serious condition in which fat builds up in the liver. In people living with HIV, MASLD may cause faster liver damage and increase the risk of organ dysfunction compared to people who have MASLD but not HIV. While semaglutide (a commonly used treatment for weight loss and diabetes) has been associated with cardiometabolic improvements in the general population, the previously presented primary analysis of SLIM LIVER showed for the first time that semaglutide improved, and in some cases resolved completely, MASLD among people living with HIV. At the Liver Meeting, SLIM LIVER will also show improvements in novel biomarkers of cardiovascular risk.
“This SLIM LIVER analysis provides important insights into the impact of semaglutide on a whole host of cardiovascular biomarkers for people living with HIV and MASLD,” said ACTG Chair Joseph J. Eron, M.D., University of North Carolina. “People living with HIV are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and they experience MASLD in greater numbers than the general population. ACTG is committed to conducting research that identifies solutions to the comorbidities that most impact people living with HIV and we are encouraged by these results.”
Today’s Liver Meeting presentation expands upon previous data among people living with HIV and MASLD finding that semaglutide improved weight, intra-hepatic triglyceride content, insulin resistance, glucose, and triglycerides. The current analysis included 36 people living with HIV taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) with MRI-defined MASLD.
Participants had a median age of 52 years and median BMI of 34 kg/m2; 39 percent were Hispanic, 28 percent were Black, 45 percent were female; and 77 percent were taking an ART regimen that contained an integrase inhibitor. In this analysis, researchers identified significant reductions in cardiovascular risk-associated lipoproteins and glycoproteins that were not related to the changes in weight, liver fat, or insulin resistance reported in the primary analysis, which suggests that semaglutide has an independent mechanism contributing to those changes.
“MASLD is increasingly recognized as a major contributor to illness and death among people living with HIV, so identifying treatments that can attenuate its impact is an important priority in HIV research,” said lead author Jordan E. Lake, M.D., M.Sc., UTHealth Houston. “While larger studies with clinical endpoints are still needed to optimize cardiovascular risk among people living with HIV and MASLD, these findings are an important first step in understanding the impact of semaglutide among these individuals and have the potential to meaningfully impact their health.”
SLIM LIVER is led by Dr. Lake and Kristine Erlandson, M.D., University of Colorado Anschutz (Co-Chairs), and Fred Sattler, M.D., University of Southern California (Vice Chair). ACTG is led by Dr. Eron and Rajesh T. Gandhi, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (ACTG Vice Chair). It is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, which also funds ACTG) under award numbers UM1 AI068636, UM1 AI107716, and UM1 AI068634, and received additional funding from UTHealth Houston McGovern School of Medicine.
About ACTG
ACTG is the world’s largest and longest running clinical trials network focused on HIV and other infectious diseases and the people living with them. It is funded by NIAID and collaborating NIH Institutes. Founded in 1987, ACTG conducts research to improve the management of HIV and its comorbidities; develop a cure for HIV; and innovate treatments for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and emerging infectious diseases. It comprises thousands of dedicated researchers, staff, and community members who are pursuing research into novel treatments and cures for infectious diseases at 65 locations across four continents, with the ultimate goal of advancing science that meaningfully impacts the lives of the people we serve.
Disclaimer: This content is solely the responsibility of ACTG and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
Media Contact:
Jenna Conley, ACTG
jenna@conleycommunications.net
