When 55-year-old Belinda Whitlock repeatedly visited her GP for fatigue, nausea and unexplained stomach pain, she was told the cause was obvious – the menopause.
The symptoms became so severe that she began skipping time with friends and going straight to bed after work.
Despite being prescribed HRT, hormone replacement therapy, her health did not improve. Then, as Belinda puts it, ‘fate intervened’. The HRT caused vaginal bleeding, leading to a referral for an ultrasound. But during the scan, the sonographer examined her abdomen instead of carrying out a transvaginal scan – and spotted signs of a fatty liver.
Further tests revealed she had advanced liver fibrosis – where scarring builds up in the liver, stopping it working as it should.
The condition, which affects up to one in five adults, is caused by long-term inflammation known as fatty liver disease – which is linked to obesity.
‘It hit me like a sledgehammer,’ recalls Belinda, a mother-of-four. ‘My mum died of liver cancer when she was just 46, and I left the doctors with no real information about what this meant for me.
‘All I could think of was my children – I thought I was going to die just like my mum did.’
The health and social care worker made drastic changes to her lifestyle. She adopted a Mediterranean diet, began drinking coffee daily and cut out all takeaways.
Belinda Whitlock says she feared she would die from liver disease as her mum had done at just 46
Experts say GLP-1 drugs such as Mounjaro could prove key to tackling liver disease
After seven months, she had lost two stone – but scans showed little improvement in her liver. So she sought another approach. At the time, Belinda was severely overweight, with a body mass index – a height-to-weight measure used by doctors to diagnose obesity – of 45.
There are no drugs licensed in the UK to treat liver disease. But after reading about the potential impact of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs on the condition last August, she began paying hundreds of pounds a month for a private prescription.
Since then, she has lost a further five stone – leaving her with a BMI of 31 – and recent scans show, remarkably, that her liver fibrosis is reversing.
‘I feel like the end is now in sight and I just need to keep doing what I’m doing,’ she says.
Experts say GLP-1 drugs could prove key to tackling liver disease. ‘The rise in liver disease is alarming,’ says Professor Philip Newsome, a liver expert at King’s College London.
‘That’s why the use of weight-loss drugs to treat the condition is really promising. We now have compelling research evidence that they can help reverse liver damage – something we didn’t previously think was possible.’
Doctors say the surge in cases is largely driven by poor diets and sedentary lifestyles. The condition progresses through four stages, beginning with excess fat in the liver, which can trigger inflammation and lead to scarring.
The British Liver Trust estimates that 80 per cent of those with fatty liver disease are undiagnosed as there are often no symptoms in the early stages. Left untreated, it can progress to end-stage liver disease – cirrhosis – which is not reversible without a transplant.
Belinda’s weight loss, through the help of Mounjaro, has helped to begin reversing her liver fibrosis
The British Liver Trust estimates that 80 per cent of those with fatty liver disease are undiagnosed as there are often no symptoms in the early stages
At this point, the liver cannot function properly, failing to filter toxins from the blood.
Patients may develop jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, intense itching, and swelling of the abdomen and limbs.
‘The old view was that scarring couldn’t be reversed – and certainly not cirrhosis,’ says Professor Newsome. ‘But we now know that if you treat the underlying cause of liver damage, you can see remarkable remodelling of scar tissue.
‘You might not return the liver to normal, but you can move it back to a much less harmful state.’
For one patient, the drug Mounjaro has been life-changing. Civil servant Gillian Scott, 57, was diagnosed with cirrhosis in 2023 after years of poorly controlled type 2 diabetes and obesity.
In June 2024, her diabetes nurse switched her treatment to Mounjaro. Since then, she has lost nine stone – and scans show her condition has improved from cirrhosis to the less severe stage of fibrosis.
‘I’m really hopeful now,’ says Gillian. ‘When I was diagnosed, I thought I was going to die. But I’ve shown it’s never too late with the right treatment.’
A growing body of research supports the use of weight-loss drugs for liver disease. A 2024 study published in the New England Journal Of Medicine found that 62 per cent of patients taking the highest maintenance dose of Mounjaro (15mg) saw their fatty liver disease completely resolve, with liver function returning to normal.
‘We believe these drugs have benefits beyond weight loss and blood-sugar control,’ says Professor Newsome.
‘We don’t yet fully understand why, but there is evidence that the GLP-1 component may have a direct effect on immune cells in the liver.’
Unlike in the US and Europe, GLP-1 drugs are not yet approved on the NHS for this condition. A decision may come this summer.
For Belinda, the delay has come at a heavy cost. She is still paying hundreds of pounds a month for a drug she believes is saving her life. ‘I’ve dipped into my work pension to afford it, and after the latest price rise I’ve had to ask my daughter for help,’ she says.
‘The NHS really needs to catch up with the benefits these drugs can offer.’
