Exercise Training Decreases Alcohol Consumption and Tissue Injury by an FGF21-dependent Mechanism

Overview

This randomized study will examine whether a 12-week supervised home-based endurance exercise program can reduce alcohol use and alcohol craving in adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). Thirty participants will be assigned in a 1:1 ratio to endurance exercise plus standard of care or standard of care alone. Participants in the exercise group will cycle at home three days per week for approximately 60 minutes per session with remote supervision. The study will also evaluate effects of exercise on FGF21, liver injury markers, exercise capacity, physical function, body composition, fatigue, skeletal muscle and mitochondrial function, and exploratory molecular and microbiome measures. The investigators hypothesize that endurance exercise will reduce alcohol use and craving while improving liver and skeletal muscle outcomes, potentially through an FGF21-related mechanism.

Alcohol use disorder is a major driver of continued liver injury in alcohol-related liver disease. Patients with ALD also commonly develop sarcopenia, impaired skeletal muscle function, fatigue, mitochondrial dysfunction, reduced exercise capacity, and physical frailty. Exercise may improve muscle and metabolic function and may also reduce alcohol craving and consumption. FGF21 has been proposed as a mechanistic link among exercise, skeletal muscle, liver injury, metabolism, and alcohol-related behavior. This is a randomized, controlled, unblinded study of 30 adults with AUD/ALD. Participants will be randomized 1:1 to endurance exercise plus standard of care (EE+SOC) or standard of care alone (SOC). Participants assigned to EE+SOC will complete a 12-week home-based supervised cycling program three days per week, with a target of approximately 60 minutes per session and intensity adjusted for safety, tolerance, and beta-blocker use. Exercise sessions will be remotely monitored, and fitness testing will occur at Cleveland Clinic. Participants in the SOC arm will continue usual clinical care and their usual physical activity without the structured exercise intervention. The study will assess alcohol consumption and craving; circulating and skeletal muscle FGF21; liver injury measures; exercise capacity and physical performance; body composition; fatigue; skeletal muscle metabolism and mitochondrial function; and exploratory transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, microbiome, amino acid, protein synthesis, TCA intermediate, and cell-signaling responses.