Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): A Systematic Review

No treatment has been proven to be effective in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and/or steatohepatitis (NASH). Numerous studies have addressed this issue. However conclusive recommendations cannot be drawn solely from the currently available studies. Hence we performed this systematic review to determine which of the available therapeutic modalities are supported by adequate evidence in terms of decreasing the adverse clinical outcomes of interest. A specific strategy was utilized to perform a computerized literature search in MEDLINE; of which, a total of 375 studies were retrieved. According to current literature, modifying the potential risk factors such as obesity, hyperlipidemia, and poor diabetic control in all patients is considered the treatment of choice. Certain treatments can be recommended under special circumstances and some medications, although used clinically, are not supported by adequate evidence to be recommended for the treatment of NAFLD/NASH. Digestive Disease Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 1. L Eslami1*, S Merat1, S Nasseri-Moghaddam1 Middle East Journal of Digestive Diseases/ Vol.1/ No.2/ September 2009 * corresponding Author: Layli Eslami, MD Internist, Fellow of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Digestive Disease Research Center (DDRC), Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +98 21 82415104 Fax: +98 21 82415000 Received: 1 April 2009 Accepted: 25 July 2009 89