Serum vitamin-E levels and its relation to clinical features in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with elevated ALT levels
Unknown Author(s)
Abstract
<p><strong><em>Background : </em></strong><strong>Oxidative stress and free oxygen radicals play an </strong></p> <p><strong>important role in the progression from simple fatty liver to steato</strong></p> <p><strong>hepatitis. Deficiency of antioxidants like vitamin-E has been </strong></p> <p><strong>reported to trigger this progression. The main aims of our study </strong></p> <p><strong>were to measure plasma vitamin-E levels in nonalcoholic fatty </strong></p> <p><strong>liver disease (NAFLD), to explain its relationship with biochemical </strong></p> <p><strong>parameters and to examine the possible therapeutic and prophy</strong></p> <p><strong>lactic role of vitamin-E. </strong></p> <p><strong><em>Methods : </em></strong><strong>52 patients with NAFLD and elevated liver function </strong></p> <p><strong>tests were enrolled. After 6 months of follow up with a standard </strong></p> <p><strong>low-fat, low-calorie diet, changes in liver enzymes were evaluated. </strong></p> <p><strong><em>Results : </em></strong><strong>Deficiency of vitamin-E was detected in 16 patients </strong></p> <p><strong>with NAFLD. Homogenous echo pattern of the liver and attenua</strong></p> <p><strong>tion was found to be significantly higher in the low vitamin-E </strong></p> <p><strong>group (p = 0.03). The low vitamin-E group had significantly high</strong></p> <p><strong>er levels of triglyceride (p = 0.02). After 6 months, patients in the </strong></p> <p><strong>low vitamin-E group did not respond to the diet and no decrease </strong></p> <p><strong>in ALT levels was detected (p = 0.04). </strong></p> <p><strong><em>Conclusion : </em></strong><strong>This is the first study measuring the serum vita</strong></p> <p><strong>min-E levels in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. A correlation was </strong></p> <p><strong>found between low vitamin-E levels, high triglyceride levels, as </strong></p> <p><strong>well as sonographic findings, both of which are negative prognos</strong></p> <p><strong>tic factors causing progression of fatty liver to steatohepatitis. </strong></p> <p><strong>Patients with low vitamin-E levels did not respond to a classical </strong></p> <p><strong>diet for fatty liver disease. Based on the data, we suggest that diet </strong></p> <p><strong>alone is not adequate for patients with fatty liver, and vitamin-E </strong></p> <p><strong>supplementation should be added. </strong>(Acta gastroenterol. belg., <strong>2006</strong>,</p> <p>69, <strong>5-11</strong>).</p>
